Decent Effort

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2013)

Drive is a dark crime drama. It is story about an unnamed driver (Ryan Gosling) known as The Driver. The plot no provides no background of any of the characters and builds a premise from the present. The driver is a silent no non-sense guy. He works in a mechanic for a crippled body shop owner. He works as a stunt driver by the day and as a getaway driver for criminals by the night. He has strict rules about his getaway heist. He does not take part in the crime and provides only a set time window for the act. His life changes when he bumps into his neighbor (Carrey Mulligan) and her son. He falls deeper than his depth when he helps her recently prison released husband. The movie has many violent action scenes. The cinematography is like that of 80s-90s gangster movies. It tries to emote more with less words. The characters are built with no background information and the emotions are subtle and unstated. Ryan Gosling as the Driver is good. He tries hard to appear dark mysterious and dangerous, and succeeds to a limit. With handful of dialogues he manages to ante up the tension or with a small smile makes himself appealingly. All of his transitions into various modes are smooth and almost seem to flow. The supporting cast works well. The film has a retro appeal about it. It is effective without the use of smart dialogues or loud music blaring in the background. Its not a genius plot or film but the movie is still worth a watch.