Drive Review

In anticipation of Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives which hits screens in the UK on the 2nd of August, I thought a re-watch of Refn & Ryan Gosling's first collaboration, Drive, was due in order to get excited for their latest feature.

Set in the city of Angels, Los Angeles, Drive sees Ryan Gosling's character, a getaway driver, stuntman and mechanic, fall for his neighbour, Irene, who is a mother taking care of her child alone while her husband is in prison. After Irene's husband gets out of jail, he owes protection money to some people and his family are threatened in order to make him pay up. Seeing that Standard, Irene's husband, is not willing to hold up a store alone, Gosling's character offers to help in a gesture of love towards Irene and her son, Benicio. When things don't go quite as planned at the pawn shop hold-up, the Driver's world is turned upside down when he is the only one who escapes with his life, with some of Hollywood's biggest gangsters looking for him and the million dollars he is now holding.

From the opening scene alone the audience is immediately introduced into Refn's dark portrayal of Los Angeles, with all the glitz and glamour of the city pushed aside, we begin in the Driver's car, with the clock ticking and the police radio blaring whilst we wait for the criminals to commit their crime and get back in the car. After a tense couple of minutes, we are speeding through the streets of LA, stopping and starting after being pursued by police cars and helicopters. The introduction of Gosling's character is perfected in this opening scene, we see his confidence in giving the rules of his service, his calmness in times of danger and most of all his ability to drive. These characteristics are vital in understanding the Driver's actions throughout the rest of the film and they are all introduced so effortlessly before we reach the ten minute mark of the film.

With the brutal violence and bloodshed throughout the film, Refn shows that he is not afraid to shock and get a reaction from his audience, which is entirely what he does. These contrasts in scenes give us time to evaluate the decisions in which the Driver is making, and what would just be mindless violence when seen standing alone is seen as an act of passion, love and beauty. It would be lying to say that the violence is not dramatised and perhaps isn't for viewers with a weak disposition, however most other emotions in the film are too emphasised, giving the audience the feeling that they know these characters and feel the emotions that they are feeling. Through the lack of sugar-coating of violence in the film, we feel that we are respected as viewers and the images that we see are raw and gritty, adding to the intimacy we feel we have with the characters.

There is a heavy connection between the audience and the character of the Driver, and even though the film is not heavy on dialogue, feelings and emotions are conveyed through the camera techniques, music and by the beautiful performance given by Ryan Gosling. This performance is matched by that of Carey Mulligan who plays a torn mother trying to choose between what she knows is right for her child and her true feelings for the Driver. The characterisation is thorough and where the might be more dialogue in other films, Refn chooses to trust in the actor's abilities to communicate through their eyes, which is what most of the interactions between the Driver and Irene seem to be dependent on.

With exceptionally dark themes, Refn shows that portrayals of the underworld and the alternative takes on cities need not always be lengthy and hard to digest. Fitting this brilliant thought provoking adaptation of James Sallis' novel into 90 minutes of exceptional cinema. It is films like this that give me confidence in the future of upcoming film makers, with only 7 films under his belt before making Drive, Refn shows that there are still directors out there that make films for the pure enjoyment of the art, and ones that are bloody well good at it, also.