an instant cult classic and a career defining film for both Refn and lead man Gosling

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2012)

"You don't need to know the route." states a mysterious figure down a phone while standing in the window of some trashy L.A motel room. "You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?" What follows is a slick yet savvy getaway drive handled by the film's nameless and soon to be iconic hero (Ryan Gosling). This edgy prologue is rounded off by the word "Drive" scrawled across the screen in fluorescent pink to the thumping sound of some electro eighties throwback track. The opening credits role and so begins the coolest film of 2011.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn revs up the romance in this retro metro, neo noire reverie. Drive is an instant cult classic and a career defining film for both Refn and lead man Gosling: measured, memorable and ultra violent. A modern day Taxi Driver with shades of Memento and like a 1970's Scorsese, Winding Refn appears to be a cut above the current crop when it comes to producing compulsive indie pictures with a semi-mainstream lure. In the hands of a lesser director, Drive could've had the facade of a straightforward, pedal to the metal Hollywood action flick. Instead, it has the look, sound and feel of something familiar yet somehow different: the heart and soul of a esoteric European art-house film in the guise of a romantic, idyllic American b-movie. There's a guy, a girl, gangsters, guns, chase scenes, heroes and villains. And Ron Pearlman. And what can only be described as an "epic" soundtrack. "The studios wanted me to use more western, 'radio friendly' music with guys like Kayne West" snarled Refn in a recent BBC interview, "which proves they don't know what the hell they're talking about." Amen.
Make no mistake about it, Refn's unruly rendition of James Sallis' noire novel is his own kind of movie. It's not one for the low-brow, dumbed down Hollywood crowd. Nor the squeamish. He's done it his way. This is a character driven tale of good vs. evil and not necessarily the power of love, but the idea of love. The near inaudible relationship between Gosling's driver and the beautiful Irene (a radiant Carrey Mulligan) is more spiritual than physical. It forms the basis of the plot and is simple enough: Gosling's enigmatic mechanic (who's something of a beast behind the wheel) strikes up a bond with neighbour Irene and her young son Benicio. A surrogate dad appears to be on the cards but then jailbird bio-dad shows up and derails the dream. He owes money and favours to the wrong kind of people. They want him to handle a heist for them. Dad needs a driver. You can see where this is going. The job goes tits up and our driver goes to great and gory lengths to protect his new found loves. Escapism. Fantasy. True Romance. Take your pick.
Drive is a subtle yet savage masterstroke. A pure dream and Refn's most accomplished work to date and surely Gosling's signature role. He is to Drive what Eastwood is to Sergio Leone's Dollar westerns. A deep and ever present anti hero with a badass wardrobe who just has that look about him. He needn't say much. He needn't say anything. But when he does its compelling. Much like the film itself.
Bronson director Refn's recurring urge to explore complex characters with psychotic, ultra violent tendencies to the sound of some killer tunes invite comparisons to not just Scorsese but Tarrantino. Drive is, after all, a cool genre cocktail riddled with crime, revenge, suspense, death and love that's clearly inspired by styles and eras gone by.
Ryan Gosling's measured turn affirms his brewing reputation as one of the most gifted leading actors in modern cinema. Expect more from him. Expect more from Mulligan, Refn and expect to hear a lot more about this absolute gem of a film for many years to come. See it.