Drive - Vik Sklyarov

 Analyzing the Analyzer

Theme and director’s intention

“Refn's debt to movies from Walter Hill's existential noir thriller The Driver (1978) to Michael Mann's limpidly seductive Collateral (2004) is evident, and make no mistake: You're meant to notice. Drive is a glittering toy designed to delight a particular kind of movie lover, one thoroughly steeped in the conventions and tropes of genre movies and enthralled by the way shifting one element of the formula reveals the works clicking away under the skin of mindless entertainment.” -Maitland McDonagh

“ Drive alone proves that. While the story is like many other revenge B-movies from the days of yore -- even acting and feeling like an '80s movie -- Drive is a delicately crafted thriller that utilizes a nuanced indie spirit to freshen an otherwise stale story. And Gosling rests at the center of this morbid tale – a dark knight whose murderous fury tragically engulfs his taste for a normal life.” - R.L. Shaffer

“As for the crime drama, it all unfolds as it should, a heist goes wrong, mob bosses need people "taken care of", people are "taken care of"... it's a matter of watching Refn tick the homage boxes one after the other, as if winking to the audience was enough to satisfy them completely.” -William Kostakis

Separate elements and their relationship to the whole

“The opening is stellar. It neatly introduces the premise — Ryan Gosling drives getaway vehicles for armed heists — and as Gosling's unnamed driver navigates the city streets to escape police pursuit, director Nicolas Winding Refn delivers on the promise of the film's premise, deftly balancing high-speed action with moments of stillness and unbearable tension.” – William Kostakis

“In the film, Gosling plays "driver," a stunt man with a haunted past and an empty soul. When he meets his next door neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan), he falls deeply in love with her. Things get complicated, however, after her ex-convict husband gets himself entangled in the world he was trying to escape. Fearing for Irene's life, and the life of her son, "driver" tries to help her husband out. This leads our hero on a deadly path of brutal revenge that may just cost him the love of his life, and any redemption he had hoped to find in her. “ – R. L Shaffer

“Everything about Drive is slightly off: the dialogue ever so faintly stilted, the rundown apartments and brutally bleak streetscapes perfectly worn and faded, the costumes—from the little-girl clip that pins back Irene's hair to that satin jacket—a touch overdetermined, and the supporting players just a hair too perfectly cast. ” -Maitland McDonagh

Objective evaluation of the film

“ The driver calmly makes nice with Standard, who's understandably suspicious of this guy who's taken such an interest in his wife, and even comes to his aid when it becomes apparent that Standard's out of jail but still reluctantly in thrall to the thug life. The driver takes on a job that's supposed to clear Standard's debts once and for all, but it all goes straight to hell in a burst of violence that leaves no corner of the driver's life unstained.” - Maitland McDonagh

“There's an energy and a moody nature to Drive that comes to life right during the film's tense opening prologue. And the romantic angle of the story is both refreshing and intriguing. Instead of playing with the usual romantic genre cliches, the film almost plays things abstractly, detailing the moments in between the dialogue, when two people really fall in love.” – R.L Shaffer

“The film trades the opening's clever intensity for a muted, painfully slow-burning narrative that mixes an unconvincing romance with a predictable crime drama.” -William Kostakis

Subjective evaluation of the film

“Refn's debt to movies from Walter Hill's existential noir thriller The Driver (1978) to Michael Mann's limpidly seductive Collateral (2004) is evident, and make no mistake: You're meant to notice.” - Maitland McDonagh

“The only truly memorable moments are the sporadic showings of over-the-top violence that almost play for comedy.” - William Kostakis

“Make no mistake, Drive is a B-movie genre picture at its core. But it's seasoned with an indie-spirit and driven by tense sequences of raw violence and exciting action. It's not going to be for everyone” – R. L Shaffer

The film’s level of ambition

“Albert Brooks as a pasty, jovially sadistic Jewish mobster? Perfect! Ron Perlman as his partner, who wants so badly to be a bona-fide mafioso that his cover business is a pizza parlor? Flawless! Christina Hendricks as the trampiest tramp who ever snapped her gum and reapplied her lipstick too often? Unbeatable!” - Maitland McDonagh

“Drive is one of the year's best films. It toys around with genre conventions and comes up with a spirited, haunting experience that's likely to become a cult favorite in years to come.” – R.L Shaffer

“Drive is a well-put-together piece of film. It's an homage to 80s cinema (hot-pink cursive credits font and all), with strong acting and high-art sensibilities, but at the same time, it's a crime thriller that offers few genuine thrills.”  - William Kostakis

Words you found interesting.

limpidly, deftly, stilted, nuanced, engulfs, verges, seething, fledgling,

Relationship to film movements/genres/ relation to other filmmakers’ work.

“Refn's debt to movies from Walter Hill's existential noir thriller The Driver (1978) to Michael Mann's limpidly seductive Collateral (2004) is evident, and make no mistake: You're meant to notice.” - Maitland McDonagh

“Make no mistake, Drive is a B-movie genre picture at its core.” – R. L Shuffer

“Drive is a well-put-together piece of film. It's an homage to 80s cinema (hot-pink cursive credits font and all).” - William Kostakis

Reviewer Citation:

William Kostakis. “Gosling's thriller stalls in second gear” Rev. of Drive, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. MovieFix  2 Feb, 2011

 

R.L. Shaffer “Drive Blu-ray Review” Rev. of Drive, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. IGN Movies 2 Feb, 2011

Maitland McDonagh “ Film Review: Drive” Rev. of Drive, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. Film Journal 2 Feb, 2011