A Masterpiece...I guess

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2011)

Drive is one of those rare movies I can praise for its originality and its success in expressing its point yet I simply couldn't stomach another viewing. Its audacious and different to be sure but theirs just something inherently rotten about it.
Ryan Gosling plays a pensive young man who makes his living as a stunt driver and getaway driver for hire. Finding jobs mostly through his handler Shannon (Bryan Cranston), Driver (yes that's his name too) lives a comfortable and regimented existence. But When a lonely neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son (Kaden Leos) make a connection with him, things start to unravel.
The first half of the movie has a meditative Kubrick-ian style that immediately entranced me. The minimalist dialogue was spot on and the spellbinding late night drives through downtown L.A. were zen-like, like visual poetry. The throbbing soundtrack only aided me further in enveloping me in Driver's quiet, cool world.
Then heads started rolling. Every drop of blood is painfully exuded from open wounds all for the camera and audience. Both Driver and the bad guys (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman) seem to have an aversion to guns so they do their killing with sharp razors and blunt boot heels instead. The story then feels like the director stacked a score of champagne glasses into a pyramid then smashed them with a sledgehammer. Its not to say the dramatic series of events wasn't expected but it was done so abruptly and with such vulgarity that, in my opinion, it undermines everything that came before it.
No doubt strong visceral reactions were expected by director Nicholas Winding Refn who previously directed the violent yet intriguing "Bronson." Both "Bronson" and "Drive" are grouped with a slew of recent films delving into the nature of violence. Other films include: Best Picture winner "No Country for Old Men" and last years Korean film "I Saw the Devil." It's a theme worth exploring but not my particular cup of tea.
Like the dangerous stunts Driver pulls on his film sets, this film is meant for those who know what they're doing. Passive moviegoers beware; but for those considered film buffs, "Drive" is a must see.
http://theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com/