Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher series, Bronson) won best director at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his 70s throwback film Drive. The praise has been coming thick and fast for this film about a stunt-driver by-day, getaway driver by-night. Its star Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, Lars and the Real Girl), Cliff Martinez’ 80s inspired soundtrack and Refn’s use of the Los Angeles landscape have had film critics in aflutter. But with all things heavily anticipated, does Drive live up to its hype?
The short answer is, yes. Adapted from a pulpy, neo-noir novel by James Sallis, the film follows a nameless character, simply called The Driver (Gosling) in the film credits. The Driver is a loner, with no past and he isn’t big on talking. With an aptitude for driving he offers LA’s criminals a precise getaway service, offering a 5-minute window of help, if anything goes wrong outside this time the robbers are on their own. Into his reasonably ordered life comes his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan, An Education) and her son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). As The Driver is drawn into the Irene’s life, he becomes involved in a series of events that bring out a nature he has tried to suppress.
From its neon pink credits to its silently brooding star, Drive exudes cool. The 80s synthie soundtrack (with at times absurdly literal lyrics), Goslings satin, scorpion-embroidered jacket and driving gloves should be daggy throwbacks, but somehow Refn and his team make them seem hip and edgy. A director often accused of favouring style over substance, Refn seems to have finally made a film where the style creates substance.
The Driver (Ryan Gosling)
Building slowly this film takes its time before kicking-in with the action, or more precisely the violence, which is at times graphic (the ultra-violence may come as a shock to those unfamiliar with Refn’s other films). Gosling’s Driver character follows a similar pattern, with his quiet demeanor tinged with an internal rage that seems to be building and building, ready to burst. Albert Brooks and Ron Pearlman have nice parts as Bernie and Nino, mobster buddies of The Driver’s mechanic friend/employer Shannon (Bryan Cranston). In a film marked by its main character’s sparse use of dialogue, Brooks and Pearlman are given some of the best one-liners.
For all its charm and visual swagger, this film does come with some failings. Drive is most definitely a macho film, not to say it is a film for men, but that it is concerned with the lives of men and has very little understanding of its female characters. Mulligan is miscast as Irene, she looks too fresh to have lived the life her character supposably has. Mulligan is however a great actor and does the best she can with the little she is given to do, Irene’s motivations and actions during the film are disappointingly left completely unexamined and unconsidered.
The Driver and Irene (Carey Mulligan)
Refn has undoubtedly made a very attractive film, capturing LA in all its neo-noir glory. He and Gosling have brought out the best in each other with Drive, producing one of the most interesting and exciting film of 2011. Gosling has never been better and Refn’s stylised approach has beautifully married his American and European sensibilities. Even with any small misgivings, Drive, as a package, is just so damn cool that as soon as it the credits roll you just want to watch it all over again.
Drive is released in Australia on October 27th
Directo: Nicolas Winging Refn
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Pearlman, Oscar Isaacs, Christina Hendricks
