Way too often film trailers can play a trick on you. Sometimes they’ll hammer you with so much information it’s overload; other times, such as with The Double and Dream House, they’ll give away so much of the plot that you’ve practically seen the movie. But one trailer that recently threw us off was Drive, with an appearance of someone on the level of a typical Cinemax flick, minus the nudity and packed instead with B-grade action. But then we heard about who was directing it, Nicolas Winding Refn, who impressed us before with Bronson and the bloody Valhalla Rising, and we were intrigued to see how his Hollywood debut fared. And guess what? It’s his best film to date, and perhaps even a wake-up call to how the city should do flicks of this nature. The story focused on an unnamed driver, played with cool suave by Ryan Gosling. Here’s a guy channeling the essence of Steve McQueen from the old Bullitt days, but putting his own twist on it, especially when he picks up the violence tempo. He’s a stunt driver for Hollywood by day, working for a close colleague (Bryan Cranston, from Breaking Bad) and helping him in his garage; but by night, he’s a getaway driver, and in the film’s opening scene we see just how good he is, patiently waiting for openings and losing the cops using skill rather than reckless speed. He’s very good at what he does.
He eventually starts falling for a neighbor named Irene (Carey Mulligan), who’s taking care of her young son Benitio while her husband sits in prison. When word gets out that hubby, Standard (Oscar Isaac) has been released, Driver coolly steps over to the “friend” role, but still can’t help wondering what to do. Eventually, a situation arises where Standard finds himself diving back into criminal life in order to help out those who protected him in prison. But when things go wrong – drastically so – Driver finds himself in a position where he must not only protect himself, but Irene and Benitio as well. That’s where things get complicated with the story, but in a good way. Entering the picture are a pair of ne’er-do-wells. The first is a gangster played with flair by Ron Perlman, who hides his business within a pizzeria but isn’t afraid to show his gusto. Paired up with him is a ruthless former movie producer played by Albert Brooks, who doesn’t look like he does too much harm at first, but then he puts over a vicious hit that will leave you startled that he was capable of such violence. These guys mean business, and it’s a nasty thing watching it all go down, complete with car chases and a whole lot of bloody mayhem.
The movie does take a while to get warmed up, but that seems to be Refn’s style. Introducing us to the Driver and then slowly settling into his world before we see what’s up is just part of the build-up for his character, and we learn he’s not too bad a guy, though he means serious business when it comes to his driving. He’s not afraid to throw out a threat or, if necessary, let someone have it with a few whacks of a hammer or kicks from his steel-toed boots. A beatdown in an elevator is riveting stuff, mainly because the driver simply doesn’t stop. It all leads to a pair of showdowns that actually stir you while you’re in your seat, and while they lack the big build-up of other Hollywood affairs, they more than make up for it with genuine tension. You wonder what will become of Driver and Irene, and eventually those surrounding them, and by the end you realize why the filmmakers went with a “There are no clean getaways” tagline. Refn directs with a steady hand, and though we would’ve preferred more car chases, the ones included here throw back to the old-school style of filmmaking. Rather than getting headache inducing cutaways, we get to realize everything that’s happening on-screen, and the stunts are great stuff. The action scenes are equally impressive, a little short but definitely sweet…and maybe not entirely for the squeamish.
Between Brooks’ stab-happy ways and Gosling’s stompings, this movie easily earns an R. You’ll see. Performances are great all around. Gosling definitely has the Driver role nailed down pat, hardly showing any emotion but meaning everything he says and does. He’s an effective lead actor, and one who deserves roles of this type more often, rather than sappy romantic leads or misplaced beings. Cranston is equally good as his partner, meaning well but occasionally stumbling due to his “bad luck”, which is explained clearly within the first half hour of the film. Mulligan does great with her role as well, showing raw emotion as a woman torn apart by the criminal goings-on, which she tries to keep out of her family. But the villains have equal weight. Perlman plays an aging mafia-type guy with plenty of raw power behind his smile. However, Brooks steals the show, eventually starting off as just another Hollywood schmo and settling into his psychotic ways almost seamlessly. You never even realize how dangerous he is until it’s too late, and even then, it’s hard to shake. One more thing – the film’s soundtrack is fantastic. It sounds like light 80’s at times, but Refn has selected tunes that fit the film wonderfully. We’re hunting down the soundtrack as we write this. Between Refn’s pacing and great performances all around, Drive is one of the best cinematic surprises this year. It’s thrilling, well paced and the kind of crime drama you don’t really see much of anymore – well, outside of affairs aided by CG, anyway. Don’t let the plain clothes trailer fool you – there’s substance to this movie, and plenty of it.
