Drive Review

I really don't even know where to start...

So I'll just state the facts. This movie is gory as all Hell. It's super violent. But that shouldn't turn you off necessarily. It's more of a warning than anything.

Next warning: This is an artsy flick. The movie itself references European action films which is absolutely a part of its being. This is an American made suspense drama created through the lens of a European action flick paying homage to the 1970's crime drama with the soundtrack from a techno-version of Footloose.

That's not a bad thing. At least not in the case of Drive.

This is one of the most interesting and bizarre movies I've seen all year. Maybe so far in my life. It's compelling and fascinating. Thought-provoking and yet mentally unhinged. The film SEAMLESSLY blends so many different styles, ideas, and themes in a way that I can hardly believe is possible. From minute to minute the movie almost constantly evolves and evokes a fluid change of emotion and style.

Thematically speaking it's a triumph.

Acting wise, Ryan Gosling has once and for all put his stamp down as one of the finest actor's of a generation. And he does this without barely saying a word.

This is why I've waited to see what the guy was capable of...

This is hard to pull off. Some say that acting is RE-acting, and while Gosling sometimes reacts to things, there are too many times to count when he's prompted to return dialogue and yet remains silent. That's hard to do and extremely hard to pull off. Obviously this was prepared within the script, but it takes an accomplished actor to work this kind of muteness...AND evoke different feelings as they do it.

If the movie wasn't so damned interesting, I'd hate it. Because this is a dark film.

Almost all the characters are terrible people. There is horrific violence. And without spoiling anything, the ending is very ambiguous.

However, there are moments of joyous levity. There are parts that just flow. Acting that is unique and different. But above all, there are mysteries that beg to be solved.

It's clear from the beginning that Gosling's character has endured trauma within the past. This is what makes his level of violence shown later in the film both understandable and inevitable. You want to know where this guy came from and what made him so quiet. So when he explodes, you're left with an understanding for the current situation but mostly left in the dark from his inspiration and possible insanity.

Gosling's character almost lives in a time-warp. From the jacket he wears (even though the scorpion on his back is an inevitable message) to the music that's used to evoke his emotions.

I'm at a standstill with this movie. Usually I hate artsy flicks because they're pretentious and made by inept morons who are incapable of suave visual styles and interesting metaphor (even though the filmmaker typically thinks they're brilliant and Hollywood applauds). Often they try too hard.

Yet here they nailed it. There's a lot going on in this movie AND it's entertaining, albeit unsatisfying (without going into detail and/or spoiling anything).

In the end, I have to rate this movie. It's definitely interesting, and entertaining, but there are pace issues and deep symbolic metaphors that I doubt the average movie-goer will enjoy. It's a certain type of creature. One that most will have difficulty understanding. Nevertheless, I mostly had fun with it, even though it had it's odd characteristics...so:


8 / 10



AT THE END OF THE DAY, TWO REASONS WHY I'M A RYAN GOSLING FAN (no it's not cause we share the same first name...well maybe a little bit):