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