I knew precisely three things about Drive before I walked into the theater:
1. Ryan Gosling plays a stunt driver, who
2. Moonlights as a criminal getaway driver, and
3. May or may not curb stomp someone.
Turns out that this was exactly the way to experience this slow-like-honey action film.
I don't actually want to say a whole lot about this movie, because I loved it and I want you to experience it the way that I did. So, first off, I'm going to say officially: I loved Drive and you should PROBABLY go see it immediately.
Drive is a strange, strange little action movie that does not behave at all like an action movie should. Oh, in some respects it's all there: car chases, fight scenes, high stakes, a variety of guns and shivs. But the tension is constant; there are no adrenaline spikes because you're nervous all the time. Nicolas Winding Refn pulls his shots out like taffy, stretching every moment until you're ready to jump out of your skin. Everything pulls in Drive, from the repetitive refrains in the soundtrack numbers to the long stretches of artificial light. Flickering lights in the elevator, streetlight passing over Gosling's face, the yellowed glow of shoddy apartment light; Gosling and Carey Mulligan (playing, quite effectively, Gosling's rundown neighbor with a young son and a husband in prison) are frequently bathed in artificial light. Instead of looking cliche, it ends up feeling very dreamlike and warm.
It's the Ryan Gosling show from start to finish, commanded not only by the force of Gosling's performance but also in the very composition of the film. Gosling mirrors Refn's pacing, reveling in the pauses and joyfully taunting you with every bated breath you're forced to take until he finally, FINALLY delivers his lines. It's in those pauses that Gosling's performance really shines; Gosling does most eloquent acting in the pauses before he speaks, and in the way he clenches the steering wheel, and in the way that he drives. It reminded me of Heath Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain, in that Gosling delivers a full body performance without actually needing to say anything at all.
Drive keeps you simmering without ever quite bringing on the boil; it has moments with more actions than others, sure, but the filming style and lighting and music act together to give even the most violent sequences an ethereal, almost sleepy quality. It's a demanding movie that requires a lot from its audience, but if you can have some patience and revel in the silences with Gosling and Refn, the payoff is totally worth it.
1. Ryan Gosling plays a stunt driver, who
2. Moonlights as a criminal getaway driver, and
3. May or may not curb stomp someone.
Turns out that this was exactly the way to experience this slow-like-honey action film.
I don't actually want to say a whole lot about this movie, because I loved it and I want you to experience it the way that I did. So, first off, I'm going to say officially: I loved Drive and you should PROBABLY go see it immediately.
Drive is a strange, strange little action movie that does not behave at all like an action movie should. Oh, in some respects it's all there: car chases, fight scenes, high stakes, a variety of guns and shivs. But the tension is constant; there are no adrenaline spikes because you're nervous all the time. Nicolas Winding Refn pulls his shots out like taffy, stretching every moment until you're ready to jump out of your skin. Everything pulls in Drive, from the repetitive refrains in the soundtrack numbers to the long stretches of artificial light. Flickering lights in the elevator, streetlight passing over Gosling's face, the yellowed glow of shoddy apartment light; Gosling and Carey Mulligan (playing, quite effectively, Gosling's rundown neighbor with a young son and a husband in prison) are frequently bathed in artificial light. Instead of looking cliche, it ends up feeling very dreamlike and warm.
It's the Ryan Gosling show from start to finish, commanded not only by the force of Gosling's performance but also in the very composition of the film. Gosling mirrors Refn's pacing, reveling in the pauses and joyfully taunting you with every bated breath you're forced to take until he finally, FINALLY delivers his lines. It's in those pauses that Gosling's performance really shines; Gosling does most eloquent acting in the pauses before he speaks, and in the way he clenches the steering wheel, and in the way that he drives. It reminded me of Heath Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain, in that Gosling delivers a full body performance without actually needing to say anything at all.
Drive keeps you simmering without ever quite bringing on the boil; it has moments with more actions than others, sure, but the filming style and lighting and music act together to give even the most violent sequences an ethereal, almost sleepy quality. It's a demanding movie that requires a lot from its audience, but if you can have some patience and revel in the silences with Gosling and Refn, the payoff is totally worth it.
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