Movie Review: 'Drive' is violent with Gosling as the modern hero
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sat, 09/17/2011 - 6:04pm
"Drive," a violent crime movie now playing at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City and elsewhere, stars Ryan Gosling, a major Hollywood star as you can tell when his name appears even before the film title, along with 11 producers (some of whom were obviously go-fers) listed before the director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Gosling, never given a name other than Driver, is a part-time movie stunt driver, garage mechanic and a getaway driver for hoods pulling off a heist of some kind. He's meticulous always giving his customers exactly five minutes from start of job to moving out. (He may be a red hot driver but he never uses the professional hand position on the steering wheel.)
Driver becomes involved with his neighbor Irene (Cary Mulligan) when her car is brought to his garage, where he is involved in a race car scheme. She is married with a son while her husband serves time in prison. Driver and Irene obviously develop an affection, best summed up in a scene where she puts her hand on his on the gear shift.
(At this point viewers will realize that director Refn likes the pregnant pause scene; it happens often in the movie with Gosling looking serious. Gosling also offers a loopy, winning smile.)
Irene's husband comes home from prison and meets Driver and thanks him for the help he has given Irene. Then the husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is beaten because he owes protection money to crime boss Cook (James Biberi). To pay off the debt and protect Irene and their son, Standard agrees to take part in a hold up of a pawnshop with Driver and Cook's girl friend Blanche (Christina Hendricks). Standard is shot and killed by the pawnshop owner. But they are double-crossed by Cook who has a car at the scene, planning to grab the money after the heist, knowing that the pawnshop was a drop-off for $1 million of East Coast mob money.
Driver and Blanche hole up in a motel room but Cook's men find them and in a bloody gun fight Blanche is killed. Driver faces Cook and discovers that Nino (Ron Perlman) was the master mind.
Driver confronts Nino; he'll give him the million in return for Irene and her son's safety.
But things go wrong …
Gosling is the personification of the strong but silent type. He's also pretty savage when dealing with some of the bad guys. He's the modern hero, self-sacrificing and good despite his violent moments. Gosling is good enough to warrant the star billing.
Carey Mulligan brings a soft touch to the film in her gamin-like appearance and holds her own against Gosling. The rest of the cast, particularly Albert Brooks and Leo Perlman, are all pros and do a fine job of support.
As noted, lots of murderous violence, some car chases and shootouts. This is not for the faint of heart. The violence is supported by the story, but still there's a lot of it. The long, pregnant pauses don't balance it out, but overall director Refn has helmed an exciting crime thriller.
— Sam Bauman
Cast
— Ryan Gosling as Driver
— Carey Mulligan as Irene
— Bryan Cranston as Shannon
— Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose
— Oscar Isaac as Standard
— Christina Hendricks as Blanche
— Ron Perlman as Nino
— Kaden Leos as Benicio
— Jeff Wolfe as Tan Suit
— James Biberi as Cook
— Russ Tamblyn as Doc
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Produced by: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker and Adam Siegel
Screenplay by: Hossein Amini
Based on: 'Drive' by James Sallis
Music by: Cliff Martinez
Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by: Matthew Newman
Running time: 100 minutes, rated R.
