Review by Stephen Lambrechts on http://movies.ign.com/articles/118/1189744p1.html
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has made a respectable name for himself over the last 15 years. With the great Pusher trilogy under his belt, and recent cult-hits Bronson and Valhalla Rising making waves in the industry, his latest and most accessible film Drive might be the one that finally gets him the mainstream recognition he deserves. Drive signals the return of films in the vein of Steve McQueen's bad-ass car pictures. It's a film that has its finger on the pulse of what's current and in style, and one that has solidified its place as the coolest film of the year.
Ryan Gosling stars as Driver, a Hollywood stunt performer and mechanic who also moonlights as a getaway wheelman for criminals after their heists. He is a man of strict professionalism; he will give his client exactly five minutes of his time. What they wish to do in the moments leading up to those five minutes, or after them, is none of his concern. While one character tells him that he "looks like someone that might be difficult to work with," he gets away with it because his skill speaks for itself.
These skills are cleverly demonstrated in an opening scene that sets the tone for the rest of the film. After picking out the most common car in Los Angeles, Driver escorts two thieves from a jewelery heist in a getaway that is riveting and nail-biting without ever resorting to the typical Hollywood action movie tropes. Driver's handling is careful, and his speed is moderate. The idea is not to cause a fifty car pile-up, but to try and go completely unnoticed. While it doesn't go off entirely without a hitch, the way in which he handles it is realistic and the resulting low-key getaway is more intense and thrilling than any of the Fast and the Furious films could ever hope to be. Sure, it's a stressful line of work, but at least he's got time to emotionally vent after a job by driving around and listening to synth-pop.
After making a connection and developing a relationship with his cute next door neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son, Driver attempts to protect them by helping out Irene's ex-con husband (Oscar Isaac), whose family has been threatened by the mobsters that kept him out of danger in the slammer. Naturally, the heist goes wrong and now Driver is in deep with notorious gangsters Bernie (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Perlman). Admittedly, this is a fairly standard plot for this type of film, but in this case it doesn't really matter; it's all about the execution, and Refn's refreshing and original approach keeps the film from running out of gas.
Refn seems to take delight in defying the audience's pre-conceived notions of what to expect from a genre film of this type. His leading action-man is quiet, introspective and bordering on awkward, but it's this level of restraint in Hossein Amini's script, and in Gosling's performance, that make the film's sudden outbursts of extreme violence all the more powerful. The outcome of one particular scrape in an elevator will likely leave your mouth agape. Let's just say that Driver's probably going to need a new pair of shoes.
Despite the film's title, car chases are fairly sparse. When they do occur, however, it's because the film has arrived to them organically, something that mainstream Hollywood action movies have forgotten over the last few decades. Most modern action films insert a chase or action scene as if they're just trying fill in time or meet some kind of action quota. Classic films known for their car chases, like The French Connection and Bullitt, understood that the action would be much more satisfying if it only occurred because the characters were pushed to their breaking points by the story. Drive understands this perfectly.
Gosling and Mulligan have an incredible chemistry, which is impressive when you consider how little they actually speak to each other. There is a sweetness to their burgeoning relationship that is subtle and realistic. Each actor manages to say more with a glance or an awkward smile than most do with pages worth of dialogue to work with. Albert Brooks on the other hand, has one of the more talkative characters in the film, and achieves a level of intimidating menace that hasn't really been seen from him before. Ron Perlman is reliable as ever, and has a lot of fun with his foul-mouthed gangster-role, and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston effortlessly applies a lot of heart to his supporting role as Driver's boss and loyal friend, Shannon.
Just as Luc Besson did with his film Leon: The Professional before him, Refn has approached a typically American genre and injected it with a Euro-chic sensibility. Perhaps it's this very European approach to the material that lends the film its overall power. One thing's certain, the combination of car-thrills, an excellent synth-pop soundtrack, great performances and the juxtaposition of beauty and shocking violence, ensure that Drive will become an instant cult-classic. Just be prepared for cool stuntman jackets and creepy blank-faced masks to become a new staple amongst your film-geek friends at your next costume party.
