Filmmaking at its best

Rating: Null/10 (9 October 2011)

Drive is an extraordinary film that will and has already divided people's opinions. Mainly because it will blow you away when the first images are projected on the screen. About 70percent of the theater will probably expect another Fast and the Furious action flick and will be disappointed. But the remaining 30 percent will leave the theater impressed.
The story is quite old school, nothing new there. Ryan Gosling's Driver is a lonely wolf in Los Angeles, who crashes cars and repairs them in a garage during the day and by night he provides his services as a getaway driver for criminals. And then it all changes when he meets the girl next door, Irene (Carey Mulligan). Irene's husband is in jail and when he gets back, the Driver soon gets himself in deep waters when he helps the Husband pay back his debts. Everything starts falling apart, no one can be trusted and everyone will get hurt. Driver has to find all the darkness in him to survive and to keep his girl safe.
Ryan Gosling has always been good. He's the actor who doesn't make too much noise about himself, but he always delivers. He's always at his best but the role of the Driver is probably one of his best. The best thing is that the character is a bit strange. He doesn't talk much, he's really sweet until he starts beating up people to a bloody pulp. But in a way, he's the guy we all are. You can actually find something very familiar in him. And that's what puts Gosling above all the actors in Hollywood. Bravo.
Carey Mulligan delivers a sweet and innocent role as the girl next door. I wish she had a bigger part in the film, she didn't have enough screen time in my opinion, she felt a bit thin. And I would have loved if they had featured Irene's son more.
All the supporting cast deliver fine roles. From Bryan Cranston to Albert Brooks, everything runs smooth and you get your money's worth.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn does an amazing job. His vision is crystal clear and just perfect. I'm glad he didn't go for the easy way out and make a traditional action film, but made this very old school, very stylish, very violent and sad version. This will be considered one of his best work, I'm sure.
Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands was the first film that got me thinking that you can use color in very different ways in cinema (I was 8 yo maybe). But Drive was the first film that got me thinking about Sound Design. Everything from the soundtrack to the car sounds were perfect. They really gave the film a really nice touch.
Only thing I would change about this film is that I would have showed more of the relationship between The Driver and Irene's son, Benicio. Benicio clearly looked up to the Driver. He's the cool guy who walks in his life, the male role, almost like a substitute for his father. There's that silent force about the Driver that obviously made Benicio feel safe. And I would have loved to see what happened to that relationship when everything turned bad.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn has delivered a beautifully shot, edited and directed film that left me speechless and in the verge of tears. I was so moved by the film, mostly because I found it really great that there are still people who make films this good. This is definitely one of the best films, if not the best, in 2011.