Drive

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Oscar Isaac
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) gets in over his head when he helps out a neighbor (Carey Mulligan).

Review:

Tim: I heard good things about Drive, so I was interested in seeing it. Director Nicolas Winding Refn has definitely created a very unique movie. It has a definite 1990s vibe to it, and it's far more gruesome and gritty than I expected. The movie isn't your normal Hollywood film. There's lot of silence, pauses, and unconventional qualities to this film. In the end, I think Drive is a good movie, but it's not as good as many people made it out to be. The film is good, but it's certainly not great.

I get the idea of making our protagonists a bit more realistic- giving them long pauses, not a lot of dialogue. I get all that. However, it doesn't exactly make for a great, entertaining movie. The pauses just felt awkward and seemed to go on far too long. It was weird and not enjoyable. I didn't like this decision or the portrayal of these characters. It felt a bit too weird for my taste. It created too much distance between the audience and the characters. I didn't care about Driver, and I didn't really care about Irene.

The story is fine, although it definitely feels like a throwback film. The movie gets credit for mimicking these types of films from years ago, but it also suffers because this all seems a bit redundant. I felt like I've seen this story multiple times already. It's a revenge flick, but not really. The movie gets credit because it's hard to classify it, but it's also difficult to wrap your arms around the story, too.

Ryan Gosling was decent as Driver, but he certainly was not great. The character is too awkward and quiet to give Gosling enough to room to showcase his acting ability. I felt like he was fine, but I didn't see anything great in his performance. Carey Mulligan was similar- decent, not great. Besides a few nice moments, I didn't think Gosling or Mulligan had all that much chemistry. I liked seeing Bryan Cranston here, although he wasn't great, either. Christina Hendricks didn't do much to wow me, either.

Albert Brooks is interesting, because he received a lot of critical acclaim for his performance here. He's entertaining and definitely in a role unlike most that he plays. There was a lot of talk about him receiving an Academy Award nomination. He ultimately didn't get one, and I agree with that choice. I thought Brooks was good- but he was not great. Just because he was cast out of character doesn't automatically mean his performance is terrific. I thought he worked well in the role, but he didn't give an especially memorable performance. Again, he was certainly good, but given the critical acclaim, I expected more from him.

I was impressed with the amount of blood and gore in this film. There is some very hardcore violence, and a few times I wanted to shut my eyes or look away. The egregious violence and bloodshed felt like a bit too much, but it certainly made the film memorable (it's probably a bad thing that the most memorable parts of the film were the gory ones). It definitely separated this film from others and added to the overall atmosphere of the film.

In the end, I think Drive certainly had its own unique style. I appreciate a movie attempting to carve its own path. I think the story and characters were good enough, and I was entertained watching the film. I don't think anything in this film was truly extraordinary. This is a good movie, and worth seeing, but it's certainly not the masterpiece some people were making it out to be.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Driver, Drive Angry