Character only known as "Drive"

Rating: Null/10 (27 September 2011)

It's not a spoiler to say that you never hear the name of Ryan Gosling's character in the film. Yet the fact that the title is called "Drive" signifies for me that this film isn't dealing with labels or identities. In watching this film, we are experiencing pure drivenness through the eyes of the protagonist.
I won't go into the detailed mechanics of the production, even though I thought Refn did a stand-up job. The filming is careful and the music tells you how you should feel. Sometimes I felt that I was engaging in a crime drama, only to be switched to a romance, then to a horror film. And, yes, this film in a particular scene is shot as if it paid homage to the horror genre (at least this is what I felt anyway). Then again, it's almost like I'm watching a thriller from the retro age of the 80's. Yet the language, clothing and cars obviously reflect today. This film, therefore, is a harmonious splicing of genres, mixing action scenes from gangster flicks to engine thrills. The thing that got me the most out of this mixing of genres is how Refn does it: the camera angles seem so strangely and originally ordered that it's impossible to tell what'll happen next. Indeed, there came a time when I wondered what time it was, yet I intentionally refused to look at my watch-- God forbid I miss something important. And that is the thing with "Drive": unexpected things happen not exactly to give you cheap thrills, but I think it's the central theme to elicit the spontaneity of sudden impulses and instincts.
To be sure, the film hasn't much of a plot. The dialogue is even lightly dosed into the script, as you'll see upon viewing. But this is one of those films where the setting, cinematography, sound mixing, and the music tell the story. It's more sensual than most films, yet it still retains its intellectual dignity. As such, sensual films usually run the risk of raping your hearing and visual capacities(hence SENSUAL); but "Drive" makes itself known to the viewer more so as philosophical experience than a basic thrill ride. Gosling does a superb job at conveying this quality, for upon viewing this movie I expected to see how the heart-throb cliché will be abused; yet his aloof manner is utilized to surprise even the most learned of audiences. You'll know what I mean when you see it.