A new direction for noir titles.

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2013)

Went into this film blind, no self-spoiling on wikipedia, never seen a Gosling film, much less a Winding-Refn film, but merely choose Drive out of my Netflix suggested category by cover alone. And VERY happy i did. Gosling gives an amazing performance as the unnamed 'Driver', sometimes referenced to as simply the 'Kid'. Driver is cool, James Dean cool, rarely emoting and only reacting when he needs to protect someone. Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman are equally excellent, fueling each others outbursts as Jewish mobsters. Bryan Cranston has a smaller, but no less pivotal, role as Shannon, Driver's boss and only accomplice in crime with a gimp leg received as payment for debts accrued in bad deals made with Brooks & Perlman. I classify the film in the noir category (some may say neo-noir) because of the beautifully shot scenes of neon-lit L.A., drenched in shadows and swimming in blood, but not too much, only when least expected. The only reason Drive doesn't get a 10/10 in my review is the somewhat sluggish character development, and because I believed Carey Mulligan's part could have been better cast.