Drive

Drive

Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn

Written By: Hossein Amini

Based On The Book Of The Same Name By: James Sallis

Produced By: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker

Adam Siegel

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman

Plot: A man falls in love with a single mother, until her husband returns from jail. When the family are threatened by gangsters, he steps in to defend them.

Ryan Gosling is a stunt driver for Hollywood and is a getaway driver at night. He doesn't carry a gun, and he will only wait five minutes for a heist to be done. The Driver (who we are unaware of his name)

is a very quiet, and seemingly passive character. The film portrays him as an anti-hero, whilst he does good he is technically a criminal. I was particularly impressed with the way the film is shot, it has an 80's noir feel (with a terrific matching soundtrack) but with a modern flair.

The film is essentially in three parts; the romance, the crime, the solution. This mirrors the typical heist film structure: the preparation, the heist and the getaway. Part of the role is quite stereotypical for Gosling, for when he falls in love with Irene, it's almost like a flashback to various 80's romance flicks. He himself is no stranger to romance films, due to being in films such as The Notebook, and Crazy, Stupid Love. Irene and The Driver are shown falling in love, but without filling it up with dialogue. I admire the films lack of large amounts of dialogue, as it manages perfectly well without it. A simple look between characters conveys everything the audience needs to know (especially concerning The Driver).

However, the transition from this 'romance' part of the film to the definitive story is dragged out a little too long in my opinion. And there were certain scenes which could've been left out. They do add integrity to both the main characters and the villains of the film, and I understand what they're trying to do with this, but it takes about 40 minutes till we get to the proper plot-line. Eventually, the violence is quite shocking for a film that doesn't have anything particularly pulse pounding for the first 40 minutes. (Note, one slow motion headshot is fairly gory) The violence is quite gritty and real.

I'm not particularly aware if Ron Perlman has ever portrayed a villain before in his career, but he comes across as a total bad ass in this film. His whole attitude to everyone else was cold and sarcastic. I didn't like the way Bryan Cranstons' character didn't have that much screentime, as I felt his character could have been expanded on so much more, but it was probable he was added in more for comedy relief more than anything. The cinematography is fantastic, set against the backdrop of Los Angeles. The film feels very real. By the finale, the film isn't afraid of getting it's hands dirty, and I'm just praying for the same standard sequel. This is genuinely one of the best films to have been made within the past few years.

Lemon Rating: 9.5/10.

Written By Eammon Jacobs