Gosling's cruise-control and Refn's expert direction propels this high-octane existential suspenser/action-drama to new levels; One of the Year's VERY Best Films!

Rating: Null/10 (13 October 2011)

DRIVE (2011) **** Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Kaden Leos. Part-time mechanic and Hollywood stunt driving mystery man Gosling (channeling too-cool-for-school Steve McQueen-cruise-control charismatic élan and Oscar worthy too boot turn) finds himself at odds embroiled with his self-preservatory demeanor as a moonlighting no-frills/no-questions-asked getaway driver for hire and falling in love with his long-suffering, sweet next-door-neighbor (Mulligan equally low-key right note performance all around), until a double-crossing scheme finds them both in a deep well of danger with no possible escape from. Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn's heartfelt valentine to Michael Mann '80s neo-noir thrillers/out-of-nowhere violent action fests of the era and his sleek, understated style smoothly transitions into darker waters largely thanks to a lean/mean-no-gristle barebones script by novice (with a BRIGHT FUTURE!) Hossein Amni's adaptation of James Sellis' novel that rises above the usual slam-bang/quick edit nonsense from the past twenty years is something to be relished and embraced for moviegoers (and movie appreciators)! Gosling's slow-burn simmering of a watched pot percolating his emotions with barely-blinking calm reservoir is spectacularly deconstructed little-by-little in finding solace in the very simple things we all take for granted: LOVE. His final moment of remaining placid amongst the riling sea with his FINALLY losing it with a 'hammer' time confrontation with a scumbag whose deadly threats to Milligan's child (sweetly played in near silence by Leos) is one for the film vault. Aces props to the finely attuned ensemble from Cranston's crippled auto-shop owner with a dark past finally coming to call; his 'not-so-silent' partners Brooks (also a sure bet for Best Supporting Actor!), a one-time big-screen producer turned shylock (with a panache for cutlery) and his creepy thug bud Perlman (equally affective for his stock-in-trade of nasty heavies); Isaac as the just-released ex-con husband of Mulligan adding a catalyst to the brewing storm ahead; and even Hendricks' va-va-voom hold-up look-out with some truly stunning moments of out-of-left-field plot shifts (!) The production boasts superlatively sleek cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel, a stealth score by Cliff Martinez, razor sharp editing from Matthew Newman, knowing production design by Beth Mickle and a hat's off shout out to costumer Erin Benach who deserves an Academy nod JUST for Gosling's bad-ass silver toned racing jacket with a bad-ass scorpion on its back!! One of the best films of the year.