In preparing to write this review, I downloaded a copy of
Drive so that I could watch it with more
attention. Then I felt guilty, deleted it, and went to the movie theatre again.
I cannot get enough of this film. Between interviews with the actors and the
director, the soundtrack, and the huge outpouring of fan art present on the Internet,
I have plenty to keep me interested.
The plot of Drive revolves around a character portrayed by
Ryan Gosling, who is not named in the film. Known only as the Driver, he is a
stunt driver by day and a getaway driver by night. This presents an original
idea for an action film, and it does not follow the typical route. Gosling was
allowed to the opportunity to select who would direct the film, and he chose
filmmaker Nicholas Winding Refn who hails from Denmark.
Gosling wanted to make a film about someone who had seen too
many action films, and couldn’t tell the difference between that and life. He
saw Refn’s film Valhalla Rising, and knew he had found his director.
“It’s like Nicholas doesn’t believe that art and
entertainment should be separate, and that gave me a feeling like when I read
the script [for 'Drive'].”
Pitching the film to Refn, and Refn to Universal Studios, however,
would be a challenge.
The first meeting between Gosling and Refn did not go
smoothly. They did not hit it off, and Refn asked Gosling to drive him home as
he did not have a license. As they drove through the streets of Los Angeles
Gosling turned the radio on and R.E.O. Speedwagon’s “I Can’t Fight This Feeling
Anymore” was playing. Refn started crying, and they both sang along. Refn then
explained to Gosling that this was the movie he wanted to make, a film about a
man that drove around listening to pop music because that was the only way he
could allow himself to feel.
Ryan Gosling and Nicholas Winding Refn explain the story behind "Drive"
At it’s heart, that is what the film is about. The character
of the Driver is quiet and withdrawn, consistently chewing a toothpick with a
complacent and gentle smile. He immediately brings to mind Steve McQueen in the
classic car chase film Bullit. He softens for a sweet girl, played by Carey
Mulligan, who lives next door to his stark Los Angeles apartment with her young
son. The father returns to the picture, complicating the situation and
involving the Driver in a series of dramatic action sequences, which are scored
like an excellent dramatic 80’s synth montage by Cliff Martinez.
Title credit sequence of "Drive"
None if this is consequential as far as what makes Drive an
excellent film. What makes it great is that it is absolutely beautiful. The
colors are vibrant, and the dialogue is sparse and careful. Every scene is
framed with precision, you could pause it at any point and have a well-composed
photograph. Without having to talk, the characters make you feel for them. The
darkness and depth of truly human characters are explored.
The pivotal scene of the movie, for me, took place in an
elevator, with Gosling, Mulligan, and a tan-suited stranger. Gosling perceives
that he and Mulligan are in danger, and the film slows down. He pushes Mulligan
backward and kisses her deeply, the lights dim and Martinez’s score beings to
sweep upward. When he pulls back from Mulligan he begins to brutally beat the
stranger. Mulligan is scandalized, he shoves her out of the elevator and looks
at her with more emotion than any single word in the script—he is saying
good-bye. Then he turns back to crush the skull of the perceived threat.
The juxtaposition of the first kiss of the hero and his love
interest against a brutal murder is a perfect representation of the film. By
combining that which is beautiful in plot with that which is real, the film transports
the viewer somewhere new—somewhere that pulp fiction, at it’s core, is
important artistically. The film is a painting of a man, who as his theme song
suggests throughout the film, is “a real human being, and a real hero.”
No single element of the story is strong enough to support Drive
on its own. Every detail is important, I could watch it twenty times and still
find something new to fascinate me. “The movie became the essence of the
experience of making it.” Gosling explained. There’s even a video of Gosling
breaking up a fight on a crosswalk in New York city, leading me to believe that
he might be the Driver in real life.
Gosling breaks up a fight on the street in New York City
-Erin Rebecca Gilmour
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