DRIVE Movie Review

Movie Review

By day, ‘Driver’ (Ryan Gosling) is a Hollywood stunt man, but by night he makes his real money in the criminal underworld as a top-flight getaway driver.  When pretty, married next-door neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) is menaced by hoods, he steps in to protect her and her little boy, only to find himself in an escalating conflict between the local thugs and the Mafia.  Little does he know that these same men are the ones bankrolling his racing future and when Irene’s husband gets out of prison, he is brought into a battle of wills between the hoods and his love for Irene.  Can he keep his cool or will all hell break loose?

This was a huge hit at Cannes this year with director Nicolas Winding Refn getting best director and narrowly missed out getting the Palme d’Or as well, which ‘The Tree of Life’ won.  The story has been told before but what it lacks in originality it makes up for in style, with Gosling essentially being the man with no name moving through the film in his own world, certain on his path until he is confronted by the ultimate life stopper, love.

The central love story is told with longing glances and little soft touches which sound pretentious but are visualised in the most beautiful way.  These tender moments are blasted away with the few scenes of uber-violence that erupt throughout the film, these are jarring and very sick but they show the lengths that these characters will go to protect themselves and the people around them.

This is an ultra-cool movie, exquisitely shoot by Newton Thomas Sigel, who is Bryan Singers DOP of choice, and seamlessly edited by Mat Newman, who has worked with Refn in the past.  It has a very Michael Mann-ish look too it and brings its own chic to the city of Los Angeles while the soundtrack is stunningly presented with 80′s style pop songs which you’ll be humming all the way home and then you’ll buy the soundtrack.

Ryan Gosling is like a shark throughout, all piercing eyes and total focus all of the time while the moments of savage violence are extremely cringe-worthy has this placid person erupts into ferocious anger.  Carey Mulligan is utterly breathless in a one note role, she makes it her own though and is steadily becoming an acting force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.  ‘Malcolm in the middle’ star Bryan Cranston is superb as Drivers only friend who gets him embroiled with the criminal elements.  Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman play the mafia hoods with other relish, one is the hot head while the other is the smooth operator who always gets what he wants.  ‘Mad Men’ star Christina Hendricks pops up in a small role and doesn’t have much to do but she is decent enough.

This is an exquisitely made, well-acted and breath-taking film which is a stunning piece of cinema so you should go see it.

‘DRIVE’ is out in cinemas now.