Drive (2011) Certificate 18 - Review
Posted: Friday, October 14, 2011
by MKDS
Storm Multi-Media Technologies Ltd
Director: Nicholas Winding Refn
Writer(s): Hossein Amini [Screenplay]
James Sallis [Book]
Cast Of Characters: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Cranston and Ron Perlman
Storyline: A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist goes wrong.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Review: A very wise film critic once said "A film has a beginning, middle and an end. If all three are viewed, then the film has played its part and deserves an honest review." With this in mind, it is Drive that does deserve but a good honest review, one which takes away the misinterpretations brought on by certain viewers of the movie.
The start of the film is coupled with both a great soundtrack that goes with any movie of this genre, and the location atmosphere which takes the character and viewer into a mood that set's a pace for a good build-up into the main story; the Driver being a lone man living on his own, spending only his nights in a single room and knowing exactly what the rules of being a 'Wheelman' are - Time being both a friend and enemy - and that those rules cannot be broken.
The introductions with Shannon (Bryan Lee Cranston of Breaking Bad, Malcolm In The Middle), who introduces the Driver (Ryan Gosling) as "The Kid", Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks of Weeds, The Simpsons and Finding Nemo), Irene (Carey Mulligan of Pride & Prejudice, Never Let Me Go and An Education), Standard (Oscar Isaac of Sucker Punch, Robin Hood and Body of Lies), Blanche (Christina Hendricks of Life as We Know It, Mad Men and All-Star Superman), Nino (Ron Perlman of Sons of Anarchy, Conan the Barbarian and Scorpion King: Battle for Redemption), it is all of these Characters that put on board a storyline that portrays the 'Criminal' and the ‘Victim of Crime’, while in between you have an almost 'Limbo-Life' of someone looking for escape.
With a slow beat Driver takes you on the journey through the eyes of each Character - maybe one or two Character's views should have been cut or edited - where in turn the viewer gets the impression that this is a mix of both Action and Gangster combined. With an essence of a Love Story thrown in for the eventual twist that will finally put together the pieces needed to end the movie, it is the 'In the middle' pieces (forgive the pun) that give Drive the extra added pace of lawlessness, speed chases, torture, killings until the eventual retribution style that is revenge.
All Character's play there parts reasonably well, though Gosling's part seems as though his 'Muted' reference in the film is desperately trying to escape the quiet man to become much louder and take on more dialogue. Irene's part succumbs to the normal pace, as does her son's, Benicio. As for the rest that include Shannon, Bernie and Nino, they adopt the 'Goodfellas" theme, especially in regards to the violence which is very graphic but all the same it is spot on. Whether this violence was needed in the film that is unknown, with the horrific - Uncut - Lift Scene, my only thought was that The Kid had lost every bit of faith in Irene's respect for him after this scene in the film. Again, with the scene of Bernie's restaurant with Nino, the gruesome 'Ultra violence' numbs the viewer to a point where they may also believe The Kid has no chance against these people!
As the film takes the viewer deeper and deeper into the realms of The Wheelman and The Stuntman, we have several interlaced stories that all come together in the Gangster Cliché storyline. In the midst of everything happening as regards to The Heist and the after effects of The Heist, the Love Story kicks in with the side story which gives us a full picture of The Kids feelings for Irene, his fondness for her son and the respect for Irene's husband Standard, who has suspicions of the two's feelings while he has been away in prison.
Throughout the whole feature the emphasis on friendship is in some ways brought to the forefront with various drops in the respective areas, but on the whole, what we expect from these friendships and indeed the relationships is confused by the lack of honesty - giving this film the Thriller Edge - while trying to settle the score with none other than the main Characters themselves. Doing this, of course, is the triggering point of the absolute one question: Who is The Kid?
Personally, from our POV, we found “Drive the Movie” entertaining enough to watch for the entirety, although there were points of the film where it could have been more negotiated as to take away the cracks. And, although some people may believe this film to be ‘Exactly’ like that of “Fast & the Furious”, believe us when we say that it isn’t. Drive is a film in its very own category, or that of an extension and refit of the Steve McQueen film “Bullet”. Just as good for those who appreciate the storylines being stretched so that you may get a better feel for the characters themselves, good for the ones who don’t want too many car chases, and just as good for those who enjoy their violence realistically served on a plate. However, the next question is “Will there be a sequel?”
With so much controversy surrounding Drive in the United States (Woman taking out a Law Suit because she believes it was ‘Wrongful Advertising’ of the action and description) then the belief and assumption is a definite “NO”, but then, who knows if there will be a Part 2, or whether the dust will forever hover over the Movie Business like a dark cloud for all Directors to take a serious note of.
DVD Archive Rating: 7/10 (8/10 if the story was expended on The Kids identity)
Physically there are 64 ways in which to drive a car, The Kid in Drive uses just 4, because in any normal film of its calibre there would only be two.
Budget Spend: $15,000,000
© Marcus De Storm
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