A Man of Few Words
An emotionally gripping, brutally truthful action film about a withdrawn stuntman-cum-getaway-driver who becomes involved in his neighbour’s life.
Ryan Gosling plays the man known only as “Driver”, a man of few words, who drives for a living - in many different mediums. Talented behind the wheel would be an understatement, the man is able to perform high octane stunts, evade the police, and even ram cars off the road - all skills which he ends up needing.
Carey Mulligan plays his timid neighbour Irene, who lives in the apartment next to Driver, with her son Benicio, whilst Benicio’s father is in prison. After a couple of run ins, Gosling becomes attached to the pair, and we see the blossoming of an emotional attachment between him and Mulligan. This is soon thrown into chaos, though, with the release of Irene’s ex-convict partner Standard, whose life amongst the free and innocent is threatened by criminals of his past, who want compensation for protecting him whilst he was “inside”.
The Driver, out of affection for Irene and her son, offers to help Standard out by being his getaway driver in a pawn shop heist, only for it to all go wrong, leaving a huge target about the Driver’s head.
A genuinely gripping, atmospheric movie, Drive offers an alternative to this already worn out genre. Rather than present another Fast and Furious film with more bang for your buck, Drive is about an emotional truth between the Driver and Irene - an innocent, unspoken love that goes unspoilt but human misdeeds, and beyond the typical facets of human relationships.
Indeed, the obvious feelings between the two lead characters are only ever depicted in a platonic light, never succumbing to sexual transgression, which contrasts amazingly with the film’s more brutal crime plot.
The violence is eye-wincingly graphic, offering up some intimate combat that would rival a Scorsese film. The performances are excellent, in particular Gosling as the reserved, almost to the point of autistic, hero, as well as Mulligan, who gives the perfect portrayal of the modern damsel in distress.
A brilliant film.
Good review Chris. For me, there was too much style and just ended up getting in the way of the story. But I still liked where it went with itself and how damn cool and sinister Gosling looked without muttering any words.
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