Worth the DRIVE

I did not find James Sallis’s book Drive to be anything outstanding. It is a solid book, but I do not understand all the high praise for it. When it was announced that Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn was going to direct an adaptation starring Ryan Gosling, I have to admit, I got a little stoked. As I mentioned before, I am a fan of Refn’s film, Bronson. All of Refn’s films are quite graphic and violent, but in a necessary and artistic way. It is hard to explain. As the news slowly rolled out about how great this film was, I got a bit worried that my expectations would be too high.

Drive follows an unnamed character simply referred to as Driver (Gosling). He is a stunt driver for movies by day and a wheelman for hire by night. His rules are very similar to those of The Transporter. He will be at a set place at a set time. You have a five minute window to do whatever it is you are doing, and get in the car for the getaway. Driver’s best friend is Shannon (Bryan Cranston). Shannon tries to convince a crime boss old friend Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and his associate Nino (Ron Perlman) to invest in Driver and a stock car. Shannon also works as Driver’s point of contact for his moonlight career.

Driver lives in a cheap apartment next to Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio, whose absent father is in jail. Driver and Irene form a close bond that all changes when the father, Standard (Ocsar Isaacs), is released from jail. Standard owes money to a guy who works for Bernie and Nino for the protection he received in jail. He hires Driver to drive for a heist. In true movie fashion, it all goes to Hell. This leaves Driver with money that is not his, and the owner of the money hunting him.

Drive is a suspense/thriller through and through. Refn respects that. Refn brings so much to the genre and the film itself. His use of lighting is the best I have seen in years, let alone this year. The lingering steady cam shots help set the ambience. Then, there is the score by Cliff Martinez. I praised his music earlier this week. Once again, his music helps to set the tone and build the suspense. The movie keeps building its suspense and tension. It teases you. It toys with you. Once the damn breaks, there is no slowing down or turning back. When the violence starts, hold on and enjoy the ride.

All of the acting is top notch with the exception of Ron Perlman. For some reason, he seems to be acting in a whole different movie. He is just plain over the top. Albert Brooks, however, turns in one of his best performances to date. Sometimes, he just makes your skin crawl. Gosling’s quiet, yet strong Driver is another highlight in his young career. He says so much with so little in dialog and his non-verbal work speaks volumes.

Drive is a dark film, make no mistake. The acting and the directing make this movie well worth the price of admission. Hossein Amini’s script sorted through Sallis’s non-linear story, and made a few tweaks which help the film. The most obvious of those changes was to make it a linear story. Drive could be quite the dark horse come award season. See it now, and when it’s rereleased for awards season in early 2012, you can say, “I’ve already seen that.” I went in with high expectations and left with them fulfilled.

RATING: 9.5/10