Movie Review: Drive

Drive

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed By

Nicolas Winding Refn

Written By

Hossein Amini

Genres

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

Main Actor: Ryan Gosling

Easy On The Eyes Factor: (Actor Beauty: Scale of 1 to 10): 8

30 Minute Rule: (Does the movie grab you in the first 30 Minutes): Yes. Immediately!

Plot: Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac). After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they're coming straight for Irene and her son-Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

My Review: Let me preface by saying that I'm not a huge fan of the action genre. I don't like explosions, lots of shooting, or unnecessary violence. When I saw the title and the poster for this film, that is what I immediately thought that this was. I wasn't even close. Drive was a very very good film. Well thought out and the story line flowed. The character development was flawless. You understand right from the beginning that Driver (Ryan's character) is a no nonsense guy. He's a recluse. But a fairly and seemingly nice guy. He goes about business and life in a very deliberate and calculating fashion and you learn to embrace him and appreciate him in the first 10 minutes of the movie. Drive is a drama, not an action movie. However, it does get messy from a violence point of view; not limited to crushed skulls and a head exploding at point blank range. There are quite a few very violent undertakings that some could say was unnecessary, but I believe the writer was attempting to color the characters more boldly.

In the last 2 or 3 years, more and more movies are fading to black without an ending or resolution. The writers are making the movies nice and tidy as they used to back in the day. You figure it out they say. Or, that is all. That can be very frustrating if you're one of those people that need movies to say "The End", as so many of the films did prior to the 80s. And many of you need moralistic, ethical happy endings, where good prevails over evil or the bad guys always get what's coming to them. I hate that premise. And more and more, writers, directors, screenplay writers hate it too. Drive is not tidy. It is not written in the format that will please those that need nice clean endings before the credits roll. It just ends. And that is find with me.

As far as supporting actors, Albert Brooks and Christina Hendricks were very good. If you love Christina Hendricks in Mad Men, don't expect more of the same. She is totally different in this movie. Albert Brooks is an out and out prick, but lovable.

Rating: 8 out of 10. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥