Nicolas Winding Refn has mastered his craft and 'Drive' is the evidence.

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2011)

Nicolas Winding Refn, son of Lars von Trier's editor, Anders Refn, is the star of Drive. Not Ryan Gosling's captivating, muted portrayal of our borderline sociopathic hero, comparable to Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, nor is it the twinkling, Hollywood city scape, such as with Heat's L.A., nor is it the automotive fetishism one may assume from the title as with Vanishing Point. No, Drive is the film where the 1990's most promising new director truly flourishes.
From the opening sequence one may be forgiven for thinking the film to be a more polished, stylised and current version of 1978's The Driver as the character's profession and rules are very similar. However, Drive is far more comparable to films of definitive moral ambitions such as Shane, which, though a clear Western, grew out of the Film Noir sensibilities of the 40's. And it is these Film Noir sensibilities that encase Refn's neon streaked colour pallet. Despite the film's modern setting and clear 80's vibe the film comes across as timeless and, while you are swept up in the tale, quite unidentifiable. This means the audience focus on the beautiful and brutal plot.
The film consists of explosions of violence, reminiscent of Gaspar Noe's Irreversible, but it is at some of these points one can see just how in control of his own film Refn is. It is the choice of what he allows the audience to see which is so relevant. This is encapsulated in one of the film's final scenes in which, instead of being confronted with an all-out knife struggle, the audience are presented with a stunning shot of two silhouettes cast by the low hanging sun, licking the concrete in a serene and bewildering brawl. Drive is an amalgamation of skills and lessons learnt from Refn's past films, of atmosphere, depth, patience, impact and effect. Nicolas Winding Refn was awarded the best director award at Cannes. Rightly so, as he has made the best film of the year and despite a uniformly superb supporting cast, brilliant editing and a soundtrack to die for, that praise fall firmly on him.