Skip to main content

Review: Drive (2011)

Drive (2011)

Recently rewatching Danish director, Nicolas Winding Refn's, Drive was an interesting experience for me. I had not seen it in quite a while (possibly since its release), however, I recalled quite clearly, that I absolutely loved the film when I saw it in theatres. Now, I still very much enjoyed the film upon this rewatch and, in fact, since beginning film school there are aspects of the film that I likely appreciated more now than I did the first time. However, there were a few notable issues I had with the film.
Drive centres around the well-used 'Man With No Name' trope a la Clint Eastwood in Leone's 'Dollars Trilogy" or even Stephen King's Gunslinger in the Dark Tower series. As such, the audience is given very little information about Ryan Gosling's character other than he is an exceptionally cool and capable individual, foremost when it comes to driving. We know nothing about Gosling's background or his motivations other than that he works partly as a getaway driver (when he is not on-set working as a stunt driver) and that he develops a soft spot for his neighbour Irene, played by Carey Mulligan, and her young son. It is the depiction of this relationship and the ensuing 'romance' that gave me some issues. Likely, there is purposeful ambiguity within the dynamics of this relationship, however, I found Gosling's character to be as cold and brutally violent as the other antagonist's in the film, which made the heavily romantic and desirous portrayal of the relationship between he and Irene a bit at odds for me. At times, I actually found myself rooting more for Irene's husband. To me, he seemed like more of a sympathetic and level-headed character than Gosling's and one equally or even-more enamored by Irene and his son.
The romantic grievances I have about Drive do not diminish from its main appeal, which is its extravagant style and atmosphere. A clear shoutout here has to go to both Refn and his DP, Newton Thomas Sigel. The lighting is absolutely incredible in this film, from its colour palette - its principal use of oranges, pinks and greens, its lighting and use of dynamic shadows, to its evocative and crisp close-ins highlighting the necessary nuances of the actors' performances. Take for example, the myriad of colours that light up Gosling's face in the scenes where he is driving through the city at night. Or the elevator scene towards the end of the film where he makes a definite 'statement' in front of Irene - just watch the creativity with the changing/dimming of the lights as he 'lashes out'. On top of the visuals, the audio and, specifically, the music is unreal. I remember after my initial theatre viewing immediately going home and downloading those absolute bangers - Nightcall by Kavinsky and A Real Hero by College - onto my iPod. All of this is just as strong watching the film today. I did, however, actually find one audio issue during this rewatch, which was that the mixing was not very good. All of the dialogue scenes were incredibly quiet while all of the actiony/driving scenes were blaring, which resulted in me frequently having to change the volume of my TV. The film also boasts an incredible cast. On top of Gosling, Mulligan and Isaac, it also stars Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks - all of who give remarkable and energetic performances. Cranstron and Perlman alone are personal favourites and it's always fun to let them unleash in supporting performances such as here.
8/10

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The New Mutants (2020)

The New Mutants (2020) TLDR: A sad, dismal final chapter in Fox's once-acclaimed X-Men saga. The New Mutants shows promise in fragments, but its poor script and plot and often awkward execution makes for a sickly overall package that is quite fitting for this equally-sickly year that it has finally been released in... The New Mutants were an alt-X-Men team created in the early 80's in an effort to revamp and re-contemporize a new team of teenage X-Men. The new series became a smash-hit with new star mutants like Magik, Cannonball, Sunspot, Wolfsbane and Mirage, all of whom continue to headline Marvel comics to this day. Josh Boone's The New Mutants, which was announced more than five years ago and shot in 2017, has finally seen the light of day in 2020... The film seeks to adapt the team's beloved 'Demon Bear' storyline, while introducing audiences to this fresh team of mutant superheroes. In doing so, Boone tries to create an omelet-homage from the likes of Ste...

Review: How to With John Wilson (Season 1)

How to With John Wilson (Season 1) TLDR: It's hard to describe exactly what How To is or why exactly it works, but there's a certain point in every episode when the comedy begins to click and then the human element - the surprising poignancy and the everyman/woman relatability - comes out in spades. This documentary series is unlike anything else out there and absolutely worth your time. Who exactly is John Wilson? That's the first question that comes to mind when HBO's new documentary series is recommended to a new viewer. The name is in the show's title, and yet John Wilson is rather a nobody in the grand scheme of things as well as in the entertainment industry (at least he was prior to the becoming a bonafide hit). However, not long ago, contemporary comedy icon Nathan Fielder discovered Wilson and, after seeing his work and style, decided to jump on board as a producer for a new series made by Wilson.  So, again, what exactly is this show? Well, each episode of...

Review: Soul (2020)

Soul (2020) TLDR: For a year where many may feel like they have lost a little piece of their own, Soul has arrived to remind us all what's most important in life. This is a Pixar film that is arguably more important for adults to watch than kids: it is beautiful - in both story and art, it is quirky, it is heartfelt and, as these trying times endlessly push on, it reminds us that there is still a lot of good in this world to enjoy and reflect upon.  Note: some spoilers below. It takes a little bit of time to ease into Disney/Pixar's Soul. Though the film starts out in a lush and beautifully rendered NYC filled with delightful jazz music as we follow Joe around his everyday boroughs, things very quickly run astray. Suddenly, we are thrown into an abstract world filled with Picasso-like wiry characters and massively heady existential concepts like 'where do we come from', 'the great beyond', and much more. If it's not immediately apparent, it soon becomes clea...