Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rating: R
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Quick Impressions:
I used to think that stoic silence had to do with some kind of mysterious male code and that other men understood this behavior. I’ve since come to the conclusion that when you stare at people instead of speaking to them, nobody of either gender has the slightest clue what your intentions are or what you’re trying to say. Perhaps men think, “This guy might be dangerous,” and women think, “Oh, he’s dreamy,” and I think, “Why are the break-out male Mouseketeers so much more appealing than the female ones,” (but that’s probably only true if you manage to be Ryan Gosling when you stand there staring. Few people can pull that off. The only one I can think of is Ryan Gosling.)
Anyway, if you like Ryan Gosling staring broodingly during increasingly long and painfully protracted silences, then this is the movie for you. It was actually a very good movie, but I’m still puzzled by the fact that when Gosling does a more serious, artistic film, this is always the type of acting he does—silent and motionless. He’s very good at doing that. It’s kind of unnerving, and I certainly wouldn’t want him as an enemy.
Drive is a very interesting film. The pacing is not what you might expect from the previews, and there were moments early on when I wondered about the direction the film would ultimately take. But by the time the movie shifted into Drive, Gosling’s character actually started to remind me vaguely of Humphrey Bogart—a much less talkative Humphrey Bogart, of course. (I mean, Bogart characters were often terse, but they rarely just stood there staring at you when asked a direct question.)
The Good:
As the stakes got higher and the action more intense, Drive really did start to remind me of an old Humphrey Bogart movie, and that’s a good thing. Somehow, after initially getting an unpleasant surprise, Gosling’s Driver always seems to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, something that surprises not just them, but the audience, too. Nobody is entirely sure what The Driver is up to because he rarely speaks, and his past and motivations are largely mysterious. We do all know that he’s motivated to protect his neighbor Irene and her son, but we’re never completely sure why he feels such a strong attachment to them.
Curiously, he seems almost more interested in Benicio than in his mother. What I mean is, even though he’s romantically interested in Irene, I think a large part of what sparks his interest in her in the first place is her son. When they meet in passing early in the film, he doesn’t seem that taken by her. But when he sees her interacting with her young son in the grocery store, suddenly his interest increases. Benicio, through his innocence, seems to reawaken something in Gosling’s character, obviously something very important.
What happened in this man’s past to make him the person he’s become? We don’t know, and more mysteriously, we don’t particularly mind not knowing. He’s the kind of character who gives you no reason to trust him except a vague vibe of integrity, and that becomes reason enough.
Best Action Sequence:
The opening sequence of the movie is fast-paced and thoroughly engrossing. I kept asking myself, “Why is he following the baseball game just as intently as the police radio?” After this tense, taut opening, the movie slows down a lot for a long time. Once the action starts again, it doesn’t really let up until the big finish. I thought the scene that ended in the ocean had a lot of emotional payoff.
Best Scene:
In the hallway of the apartment building, when Gosling’s character tries to explain to Irene everything that has happened, we perhaps begin to understand why he speaks so seldom. He’s not very good at knowing the right things to say. When the two step into the elevator, we’re not completely sure where they’re headed. They don’t know, either. And then the presence of a third person in the elevator complicates the situation further. But by the end of the scene, when Irene steps out of the elevator, much as been resolved—Ryan Gosling style—silently.
Most Oscar-worthy Moment:
Even though I know Nicolas Winding Refn won best director at Cannes, I have a hard time imagining that this film will win any Oscars, even though Gosling gave a strong (but silent) performance, and there were outstanding supporting performances by Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, and Albert Brooks. Of the three, I’d say Brooks’s performance was the strongest, making him the most likely to get a supporting actor nomination. This was a solid movie, and I could potentially imagine nominations for Brooks, Gosling, or Refn, but there was really no moment where I felt strongly enough to champion one of them. Brooks’s final scene with Cranston is the garage is nicely done, though.
Visually:
From the opening scene, I was intrigued by the use of windows. When Ryan Gosling is in the car, we often see his arm reflected in the driver’s side window, his eyes reflected in the rear view mirror. We also see him turn and look out the window a lot, both in the car and in his apartment. A Ryan Gosling stare speaks volumes (or anyway, he obviously thinks it does since he often uses it as a substitute for speaking). Over and over again, we find his character staring through a glass pane at the world beyond. And then, at a critical moment, somebody breaks a window, and shortly thereafter, Gosling’s character crosses a line that we’ve never seen him cross before. Suddenly, there’s a change, and in the latter part of the movie, he seems to have the window rolled down much of the time. Often, instead of just looking out, he’s leaning out. I’d have to watch the movie again to know how accurate my impressions were and exactly what to make of them, but I thought the use of windows was fascinating.
The Performances:
Ryan Gosling gives a great performance as The Driver, though at times you want to slap him across the face and scream, “Say something!” You do root for him, though. You also trust him, which is baffling because his origins and history are so mysterious. He displays a kind of integrity in his dealings that speaks for itself, however. Gosling has a gift for displaying an incredible amount of intensity as well as depth and complexity while remaining silent. Not every actor can do that.
Kaden Leos gives a low-key, realistic performance as Benicio, kind of remarkable considering that child actors are often much showier. Benicio is an essential character since Gosling’s Driver seems to connect to him in a primal way.
I really enjoyed Bryan Cranston as Shannon. The character was weak (natured), but the actor was strong. I’ve often wondered how Cranston’s considerable talents would translate onto the big screen. (I know he’s been in movies before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in one.) He’s a pleasure to watch and a nice foil for Gosling’s character.
When I hear Albert Brooks speak, I immediately think of Finding Nemo and The Simpsons. I know he’s a gifted actor, but I never imagined him playing a villain so convincingly. Villain is not a fair description of Bernie Rose, who is a complicated and largely sympathetic person. I don’t understand his attachment to his partner, Nino, but Brooks makes Bernie one of the strongest and most charismatic characters in the movie. You can see what Cranston’s Shannon sees in him. He’s strong, influential, and friendly with more than a hint of menace lurking very near the surface. The way Brooks plays the character, the menace (though it makes us wary) actually adds to his appeal. He seems predatorial, crafty, ruthless, and nice. You can understand why he’s a person of some influence.
In contrast, Ron Perlman’s Nino comes across like a brutish thug. I kept wanting to yell at him, “Maybe the mob doesn’t respect you because you’re a bumbling idiot.” Perlman gives a great performance, too, though, very much against type. He almost always plays a flawed but at least somewhat sympathetic character, and Nino is most definitely not sympathetic. He thinks nothing of hurting other people. In fact, he seems to enjoy violence and cruelty instead of just seeing it as a means to an end. Perlman portrays him perfectly, creating a formidable human roadblock to the happiness of the other characters.
Carey Mulligan as Irene and Christina Hendricks as Blanche both have relatively little to do. Both characters serve as catalysts, Irene by far the more important of the two. Mulligan is a perfect match for Gosling. She says more through her silences, too. She makes Irene a compelling character, one who somehow seems virtuous, despite the strange circumstances under which she becomes involved with Gosling. Hendricks’s Blanche isn’t in the movie for long, but she’s wonderfully emotive when it counts.
Oscar Isaac gives a lovely performance as Standard, a man who wants to be stronger than he can be. Initially, he seems a bit unsympathetic, but Isaac successfully conveys Standard’s deep and intense emotional core lurking beneath a surface that is meant to seem strong.
The Negatives:
In terms of genre, Drive is an odd movie. It begins as a slow, sometimes painfully slow, character study of a complicated and mysterious man who drives for a living but is looking for something more from life. Then the action comes all at once, and suddenly, you’re on the edge of your seat watching a gripping crime drama. If you expect to be watching an action movie the entire time, you’ll be bitterly disappointed.
The payoff in the end is wonderful. The action of the movie is made much more meaningful because the director has taken so much time to introduce you to a rich and complex character. Still, the beginning of the film (after the brilliant opening scene) is slow and sometimes frustrating because of Gosling’s character’s penchant for brooding silences (even at moments when speech would seem the more efficient choice).
Ultimately, The Driver is a character who survives because he knows when not to talk, but some audience members may begin to suspect they will themselves die if somebody doesn’t say something pretty soon.
The beginning is slow. This is deliberate, but it can be frustrating.
Overall:
This movie has some gripping moments and some great performances. There are also a lot of painfully protracted silences. If you go in expecting a mindless action movie, you’ll either be disappointed or pleasantly surprised depending on your feelings about mindless action movies. This isn’t a mindless action movie. It’s a speechless action movie. (Just kidding.) The Driver is an interesting guy to spend an hour and forty minutes with. I think he’s most compelling when he’s driving—the faster the better.