Not the movie I expected

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2012)

This is another movie I heard so many great things about and I was expecting something incredible. And because I had such high hopes for this film is the reason I gave it a lower rating than I would have probably given it. Is it a good film? You bet it is. Did I like it? Sure. Did I REALLY like it? Nope. But let me talk about the film a bit.
High praise from me goes to Nicolas Winding Refn, the director of this film. He did a great, great job and he is the main reason why this movie was good. I congratulate him. Also, I liked the plot of the film. It's clear that Hossein Amini, who wrote the script, did not write it as the movie was moving forward. He came with a well written screenplay from the beginning and he knew what he wanted from the film, and I believe that in a certain degree, he got it. Undoubtedly the best performance in this film is that of Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose. He is the second reason, after Refn's directing, I gave it a positive rating.
Another thing I liked about the plot was the Driver's anonymity. I personally found it cool how this character is being offered to us, with no information about his past. We needed to figure out the type of person he is just based on his actions. And after the first half of the film, you finally think you got to know him. But after that, he does something completely surprising and you begin to wonder again about who this guy really is.
Now let me talk about what I thought were the weak points of this film. For me, one of them was Ryan Gosling in the first 3 quarters of the film. I know he got high praise for his performance in this movie, but I didn't like him. I don't think he was completely bad because, as I mentioned, I liked him in the final act of the film. And I hoped the movie would bounce up with a performance from Carey Mulligan, but it didn't. Carey Mulligan's performance just added another misinterpreted role in the film.
Bottom line, will it get nominated for any Oscars? Well, it will probably get nominated for Best Director for Nicolas Winding Refn. Also it surely will get nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Albert Brooks. It might even get nominated for Best Picture considering there will be a maximum of 10 nominees. Other than that? I would be out of my place to say. Will it be in my top 10 best films of 2011? Most likely, it won't, because there are so many other great films out there. But who knows? I had great expectations for this film too and I gave it an 8.