“A Real Hero”by College plays as a sort of theme song in Drive, meant to reflect our protagonist’s struggle to be someone better than himself. While I think this is a bit on the nose, it may be proof that with Drive we finally have a superhero film starring Ryan Gosling!

Drive opens with our protagonist, a getaway driver in a white jacket with a large scorpion sygil on the back, whose name is never revealed and the credits refer to as The Driver, explaining his strict rules to his clients (thieves). The film then throws us into a beautifully crafted and perfectly edited chase scene and the audience is immediately a victim to the style of this sequence. Gosling and the cinematography ooze style in every single frame of this film, but that is only a part of what makes this film so captivating. The chase scene comes to a nail biting finish and there begin the film’s opening credits to the tune of Kavinsky’s Nightcall, a song you’re sure to want to listen to on repeat in your car after you finish this film. As fantastic of an opening sequence, it is important to not expect much more of the same in the rest of Drive. This isn’t Fast and Furious starring Ryan Gosling. Director Nicolas Winding Refn makes it clear that he is not interested in action but in a deep character study, an attack on the the psyche of the traditional Hollywood action hero. I’m sure by now I’d be beating a dead horse to say that Gosling plays this role to perfection, but it has to be stated that it is a feat of performance where throughout the film Gosling is able to convey more without dialogue than with.

The Driver, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver is finally shown the light at the end of the tunnel when Irene (Carey Mulligan), his neighbour, and her son Benicio enter his life. Mulligan is perfectly cast here as Irene, exploiting her talent to play deeply vulnerable characters to perfection (also check out Wildlife). Here, for the first time, the audience sees an honest smile on The Driver’s face and a departure from the darkness we’ve seen till now. The Driver’s relationship with Irene and Benicio catalyses hs desire to get out of his life of crime, a life of violence and darkness. It is revealed that Irene has a husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac) who is in prison. Standard is released soon after, but he’s been involved with some bad folks who now threaten Standard’s family as well. The Driver, who is now clearly in love with Irene and has grown attached to Benicio, takes it upon himself to help Standard get out this mess and protect his new family

Despite descending into a brutally violent third act, Drive maintains its commitment to being a character study, to being a subversive take on post-modern blockbuster violence. At every stage that our protagonist sees a hopeful future for himself, he’s pulled back into the darkness of his world. Just as the lyrics of “a Real Hero” suggest, The Driver wants to go beyond what his life has doomed him to and even when everything lies on the line, become a hero and a “real human being”.

Drive, in my opinion is a perfect film, truly flawless. The writing is tight with not a single unnecessary scene or line of dialogue. The cinematography is drop-dead gorgeous. The synthy soundtrack from Cliff Martinez gets your blood pumping in ways you might not have expected , and the supporting cast including Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman are perfectly cast. Albert Brooks sans eyebrows conveys a horrifying intesity to his character and need I even say that Bryan Cranston is spectacular? However, the film could never be what it is without the remarkable vision of its director, the highly controversial Nicolas Winding Refn. Winding Refn blocks his scenes in a way I had never seen before in film. Character positions relative to others on screen could immediately convey power dyanmics and the nature of relationships and conversations to the audience. I could talk for hours about this film as each is packed with layers upon layers of subtext,that’s also why the film is even more enjoyable on repeat viewings.

Managing expectations is key to appreciating Drive for the masterpiece that it is. Upon its release Drive was extremely polarising due to misleading marketing and expectations suggesting an out and out action film, with one woman even threatening to sue the makers for not getting what she expected from the film. However, I urge everyone to check out this one out. I even invite those who have seen it once and set it aside to give it another go. A very violent final act might put off some audience members, but stick with the film and you will be rewarded

RATING:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

You’ll like it if:

• You’re a member of the Ryan Gosling fan club.
• You’re interested in finding out for yourself why there is a scorpion on the back of the jacket.
• You’re interested in discovering something entirely new, not a standard action film, a standard drama film or even a standard romance.
• You love Taxi Driver, and you’re looking for a reactionary thriller that somehow manges to fit a fast car into the mix.
• You’re not allergic to good movies.
• You have T Shirt with Ryan Gosling’s face on it and you want to discover some stuff to make it seem like that wasn’t a terrible idea ( or is that just me?)

I’m starting to feel that this blog’s name should be changed from an overly pretentious thesaurus generated title to ” The Ryan Gosling Appreciation page “