An interesting movie, that I loved and was disappointed with

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2011)

Went in the movie without reading a review.
Loved the music and cinematography, soundtrack was just cool and the background music made the atmosphere throughout a good chunk of the movie.
Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman were great, I really think they made the movie as far as performances.
Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan had good chemistry and I thought even though the dialogue was tiresome and slow it really built their characters.
I really wanted to like this movie, and I kinda looked past the long awkward pauses(yes they were there for a reason) but there was just a disconnect after the elevator scene.... I really liked the movie before that part. The display of the stomping did it for me. Then the fork in the eye, knife in the neck and and constant gratuitous violence was just too much... albeit after the motel room scene! Whether Gosling's character was violent in his past or whatever the elevator just took it too far for me. I felt the movie went in the wrong direction. I liked how they captured the fear and tension in Gosling after the chick is obliterated in the washroom at the motel and he is anticipating the thugs.... I really did enjoy that scene.
As far as the ending, my take on the Driver is that his wound was fatal and that he expired. From the looks of it, it looked like a straight shot to his liver. The whole driving scene at the end was probably some form of dream or afterlife visual.
I am huge fan of action movies and just about any genre but I think the display of the violence and the continuous slow pace of the movie in the end ruined it for me, and I hate to say it, cause I was really looking forward to it after the first driving scene... the lights, cinematography, it was cool but in the end it just couldn't finish for me.. who knows maybe I'll watch it again and like it .... totally reminds me of the experience watching the movie "Sunshine".
For the record I loved No Country for Old Men, this movie I enjoyed certain parts but it is not close to the same quality FOR ME.
PS. Feel free to comment on parts that you liked in contrast to mine and why you felt that way, don't criticize people because they didn't like certain aspects of the movie that you did.