More Narrative that I Prefer

Rating: 8/10 (11 September 2019)

Many critics have remarked that Gosling's performances often leave something to be desired. He tends to act very sparingly and not emote to the last row of the theater.
This is precisely why I, and certain other film makers, like Ryan Gosling. He's reserved and forces the viewer to read every micro expression to figure out what he is thinking. He relies on that 90% of what we all know gets communicated when we speak, the non-verbal.
His emotions teem under the surface ready to break free in a frenzy, which is the end of this film. The still waters everyone normally sees are erased from memory by the actions he undertakes when he is forced.

The violence was a lot more shocking than I remember as well. That isn't necessarily to warn anyone off of viewing the film. This movie is a prime example of violence being used effectively as a story telling technique. The violence in the film is delayed, showing the lengths to which some characters are willing to go in order to avoid it and contrasted with the characters who lean on violence as their first resource.
Nicolas Winding Refn ("Only God Forgives") is one of my favorite directors. He doesn't always nail it as far as communicating what he wants in the way that he wants but he always swings hard. Drive is probably his most accessible film and the one most people would know him for. It's probably in my top ¼ of his films but I won't say it's my favorite. It's a little more grounded than I like from him but for the average movie goer, I can't say I would recommend branching out into his other work.
As a cinephile, however, I am quite thankful that my first drive with NWR led me to his other works.