Drive appeals to all with versatile dynamic
Though midsummer is prime time for action movies, director Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest film hit theaters just last Friday and stunned audiences with its originality. 
It is easy to write off this macho film as a cinematized Grand Theft Auto, yet Drive contains several elements of other genres that separate it from other action films. There is the bittersweet romance between Ryan Gosling’s dark character and the sweet Carey Mulligan, the timing and suspense of an Alfred Hitchcock flick and the sense of grim justice that prevails mostly in the crime genre. In short, Drive caters to audiences who want to think, not just see things blow up or cars transform into alien robots.
In addition to being thought provoking, Drive is also aesthetically pleasing. Aside from featuring beautiful celebrities, Drive has stellar cinematography and makes great use of sound. The title sequence features beautiful aerial shots of Los Angeles and several scenes shot from within the car itself. To heighten suspense, there is rarely a time when an actor is featured center frame, making one wonder whether something ominous will approach from the left or right sides of the screen.
Gosling plays an unnamed character who is a stuntman by day and driver by night. Darting from gig to gig, Gosling is uncomfortably content with his job until he falls for his sweet but reserved neighbor Irene (Mulligan), accompanied by her lovable son Benicio. When Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) comes home from prison, trouble starts.
Despite a somewhat convoluted plot, Drive makes a name for itself by creating interesting, dynamic characters.
For example, one immediately wants to judge Gosling’s character based on his appearance. For the entire film, Gosling never smiles unless speaking with Irene. He wears either a denim getup or his trademark white, racecar-esque jacket, which later he will not even bother to wash the blood off of. Gosling even goes so far as to give off stereotypical tough guy posture. He delivers lines behind the beat, hunches his shoulders and keeps his face down low, making it clear he is not to be messed with.
Yet Gosling’s character also has a unique sense of justice. The man has no qualms about driving robbers on their heists, yet he makes it very clear that all he does is drive.
“If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place,” Gosling’s character says. “I give you a five-minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I’m yours no matter what. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down. I don’t carry a gun. I drive.”
Nor is the character especially violent — that is, unless he is provoked or forced to protect. In fact, all of Gosling’s actions are the results of a deep need to protect Irene and her son. He gives no thought to his own safety or well-being.
Mulligan’s character Irene is also abnormally innocent, unlike the sexy, bad-girl type of Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie. Mulligan never shows her skin, and hides behind long-sleeved shirts and floor-length skirts; she gives every impression she needs to be protected.
Also, like Gosling’s character, she is distinctively quiet. Watch as Gosling and Mulligan, falling ever so subtly in love, communicate for several seconds without speaking. There are no heavy declarations of love or passionate lovemaking scenes. In fact, there is only one kiss in the entire 100 minutes. Their relationship is purely emotional, and does not even serve as the focal point of the film. Much of Drive features Gosling fighting to protect Mulligan instead of actually falling in love with her.
Despite the bittersweet romance, Drive is not for the faint of heart, and is rated R for good reason. The film features heavy and disturbing scenes of gore. A woman is shot in the head and blood and brain matter erupt all over the room. A man is stabbed in the forehead with a fork and blood spews everywhere. Gosling’s character stomps a man to death, deforming his features and marring his face so badly that blood and brain collect in a deep pool underneath his corpse.
In all fairness, however, the film does warn the audience of approaching violence. The gory bits are often shown in slow motion, leaving plenty of time for the viewer to notice the gunman in the window or Gosling preparing to pummel his attacker.
The verdict? Drive is definitely worth the $14 shelled out at L.A. Live, as it presents something for everyone to enjoy.
Clearly there is nothing original about this film, it does not succeed as either an action movie nor a character study. If one were to take David Lynch’s masterpiece ” Blue Velvet”, delete the best parts and insert the tortured driving sequences of male prostktute Julian Kaye in “American Gigolo”, then you basically have “Drive”.
Even the most simplistic parts of the film were poorly considered and researched, a broken down POS ex ARCA racecar was presented as a plot device worth 300k, you can buy it for 20k.
The director wanted to be David Lynch, he wanted the same haunting themes that Gorigo Moroder created in the 1980’s and failed at both efforts, this film may be named “Drive”, but it never gets out of Park.