Drive (2011)

Drive is the most surprising movie I’ve seen yet this year. Whatever you may think this movie is, you are likely to find that that is not what it actually is. If you are expecting an action movie, you will be disappointed that it is not an action movie in the way you expect them to be. If you actually think you will see a romantic movie, you will also not be expecting how much it turns away from that subject as well. Yet, it fully embraces both sides of the spectrum in a very carefully structured manner. Watching Ryan Gosling in this movie, I was greatly reminded of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, which also tells the story of a man who drives for a living who is pushed beyond the limits of morality in order to do good. Like Scorsese’s classic, everything in Drive happens for a very good reason and everything is timed perfectly for maximum effect. There is a lot of introduction before the story really kicks in, because the director knows that some of the things that happen later on in the film will be so much more unnerving if we get to know the characters as if they were people instead of just cardboard cut-outs.

Ryan Gosling's character has no name. He is usually referred to as simply "the driver." He drives as a stunt double in movies and he drives burglars safely away from the scene of the crime. The film opens with an example of the latter, which is one of the best car chases I’ve seen in a long time, mostly because Gosling avoids being actually chased for as long as possible. He is not great at what he does because he drives fast. He drives smart. It seems initially unlikely that a reclusive, somewhat dangerous guy like this would fall in love with his neighbor, played by Carey Mulligan. This seems to have been built up over a longer period than we have seen. She lives next door to him in their apartment building, but he still must ask what floor she wants on the elevator. He avoids her in the grocery store and ultimately must give her a ride home. This eventually leads to him helping her recently released criminal husband with a robbery that leads to the gradually more intense final scenes of the movie. This is all expertly crafted. Irene and the driver do not ever go through any of the traditional stages of movie romance. With the exception of one kiss, they never give any real indication that there is anything between them. When her husband comes home, there is no guilt, just an obvious disappointment there couldn’t have been more.

It’s all about the car, though. Gosling drives because he is good at it and because it makes him happy and happier still when Irene is riding with him. More is said about their relationship through these drives then from any words spoken. It is driving that also leads him into the serious trouble with gangsters Albert Brooks and Oscar Isaac. I haven’t seen Brooks do anything in a long time, and he reminds us here what a great actor he is, even in serious roles. He is featured in the only scenes of the movie that revolve around talking. When he says his hands are dirty, the actual meaning hits us immediately, even though we have no indication that he is a bad person until much later. There is a strange, subtle nastiness about him, and Brooks certainly steals the show whenever he appears. This is Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's third English-language film, after Bronson and Valhalla Rising. This is the first film of his I’ve seen, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s one of the best of the year. After seeing so many other action movies this year that function only as immediate distractions, how refreshing it was to see a movie that actually meant something; that cared enough about itself not to ruin things with mindlessness. It’s a rewarding experience.

10/10