Drive is a 2011 film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn which stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, and Albert Brooks. The movie is about a driver who finds himself into trouble when he attempts to help out his neighbor and her family.
The Positives:
When I saw this film for the first time a few years back, I did not like the film too much. I guess I was expecting something that apparently did not occur in the film. However as years passed, people were still talking about how good this film is. So recently I bought the film again for my collection and I gave it a rewatch. After a rewatch, it turns out I really enjoyed this movie more than the first time. What made me love the film a lot is the character of Ryan Gosling. He’s a driver who goes through his usual routine by being a getaway driver for criminals at night and being a driver for Hollywood movies during the day. He’s attracted to his neighbor named Irene (Carey Mulligan) and you see him putting his own life on the line to protect her and her child in the middle and end act. This really impressed me because the plot twist of the film helped Gosling’s character to develop very smoothly. I loved the style of this film because it reminded of the film Collateral a little bit and I loved that film a lot. I really could see Michael Mann direct this movie but Refn did a superb job nonetheless. This is one of Gosling’s finest performances.
The Negative:
In my opinion, the only problem I had with this movie was that the middle act was a little slow. I felt the middle act could’ve gotten to the point just a little quicker because some scenes were stale. But this is only for a few minutes and it doesn’t hurt the film too much. Gosling’s performance as the driver was the spark that got this movie running in my opinion.
The Verdict:
I’m going to give this movie four out of five stars. The movie is really good and I highly recommend it to anyone who has not seen it. I know some people don’t like Ryan Gosling but anyone that hasn’t seen this movie may have second thoughts after watching it. Stay tuned for another review!
The Elite Film Prodigy 