Drive Review

Drive is a very unique film. It's storyline, about a stunt driver who gets in over his head trying to protect a family, seems like standard action-thriller fare. However, due to the direction of Nicolas Winding Refn, the film's style is much more artistic. Its pace is more measured, its violence played more for shock and, surprisingly, beauty than excitement. Most importantly, though, it does something that most films nowadays are unable to do: it makes you care.

Drive sets up these characters with as little dialogue as possible. The Driver, played by Ryan Gosling, is a very quiet man. He conveys most of his thoughts through the looks he gives, rather than through his dialogue. This doesn't hurt our understanding of the character, though, rather we get a more primal and emotional understanding of him, and it is made all the more shocking when he forgoes his complacent demeanor and lashes out.

The rest of the cast is also great. There are many recognizable actors, but they avoid the curse of past roles. Too often, when watching a well known actor in a role, they are seen as their "big break" character. This doesn't happen here. All of the actors are seen as their characters in THIS film, not their previous ones. This is especially strange for Albert Brooks, normally a comic actor, who slips seamlessly into the role of an unpredictable gangster.

The film's violence is unflinching. It is graphic and brutal, yet there is a strange sort of beauty to the way it is shot. It is slow and artistic, much different than the quick cuts and exciting music that plague action movies nowadays. However, this makes it disturbing in an entirely different way.

The direction of the film, though, is where most of the praise has to go. Nicolas Winding Refn has a very unique style that he uses for this film. It is very cool, and untraditional, but also very engaging. By the end, the audience actually cares about the characters, which is rare in this day and age, when action films have become all about the bloodshead.

Drive is an excellent film. It is much different than one would expect, but it is all the better for that. It's tiring seeing the same exact film over and over, with changes only to the title and actors. Seeing something this unique, and beautiful, and perfectly crafted, it's a truly wonderful and unforgettable experience.