Drive (2011)

The Theatrical Poster for Drive.

Think Grand Theft Auto: Vice City [video game] meets Taxi Driver.

Ryan Gosling stars as "the driver" in this epic vignette of a film.

Drive is set in modern day Los Angeles, California, and follows an introverted young man who works as both a stunt driver for Hollywood films and mechanic at a car shop. But here’s the catch, he also has third job, where he drives criminals around the block as they do their dirty deeds. Oddly, Gosling’s character’s name is anonymous, so we shall refer to him as the “driver.” Well, the “driver” meets his neighbor, Irene (Cary Mulligan), an innocent woman who has had a troubling past with her ex-con boyfriend, and her son. As their relationship begins to cultivate, it becomes disrupted when Irene’s boyfriend is involved in some dirty deeds upon his release from prison and endangers both Irene and her son. It’s now up to the “driver” to end it all, but can he fight his own demons to what is the “right” thing?

You sure this is a good idea?

 While watching Drive, I couldn’t help but feel a strange inexplicable sense of nostalgia. Here, we have a protagonist, but at the same time we question if we can label him as the protagonist because of his actions. But let’s play the devil’s advocate in this one. The film centers around the driver, but has a few interesting additions, as well, including the driver’s one and only friend, Shannon, who primarily serves as a contradicting character and stirs up trouble unknowingly. Then we get the group of mob, who serves as the antagonist of the film. Irene’s purpose is seemingly to play the innocent side of the driver. 

Hey, it's Christina Hendricks from Mad Men.

From the start of the exposition, we are given the idea that the driver is skilled at what he does as he is able to escape from the police. However, we, the audience, are not given enough to know too much about him, but all we know is that he is a troubled man who seems to be trying to run away from whatever sin he has committed. As he intertwines himself into this bloody mess, the entire plot begins to dwindle into a path of twists and turns.

This is going to get ugly.

 Director Nicholas Refn certainly proves to the audience he can direct a movie with a combination of subtlety and brutality. Drive also echoes an 80’s backdrop with its electro-pop score and soundtrack, sort of taking us through a neo-Grindhouse kind of experience. Violence is not to be taken lightly in this subject matter. We have it all you want -- and shocking at that, as well. But, most importantly, it is used effectively as a storytelling device. With each blow, stab, and kick, we experience his solidarity and concealed anger, which gives us at least some clues to who he is as a person and what’s his motivation: psychopath or sociopath? Or perhaps something else? It’s up to.

Cary Mulligan and Ryan Gosling share a moment of "truth."

Drive is not movie for everyone; it's dark subject matter may push some audience members away, but maybe we can learn something from a film like Drive. The film strongly and implicitly revolves around the theme of personal conflict and uncovers something about the city of Los Angeles: the true L.A. where paparazzi and celebrities are not walking around; the gritty side of L.A., where drug inhabits and social issues continue to persist. I wouldn't necessarily label Drive as a typical revenge film, but more of a redemption film. But with an experimental film like this, it reminds us of the dangers and beauty of life with the ambivalent personal shadow that seems to inhibit over everyone subconsciously. In the end, we ask ourselves: how far are we willing to go end it all? To start new? Think of the meaning of the word "new."

However, that said, being familiar with works of Scorsese or the 80’s gangster films is not a necessity to enjoy Drive. Refn’s new addition to the modern genre is an undiscovered treasure of cinematic bliss for both the younger and older generation of audience members. That said, Drive is a dark film with a heart (oxymoron, right?). Performances are terrific all around; soundtrack is great; and the styli-sized violence makes the epic experience feel like it’s 1985…well, I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t born until 1993.

Grade: A