Movie Review: Drive (or a Steve McQueen movie for Hipsters)

I recently got around to seeing "Drive", a movie I had been reading about for months. People really got into this movie, which I thought was strange. The trailer makes the movie out to be nothing more than a standard car thriller; a few car chases, a fight or two, some revenge gets enacted so on and so forth. But there really is a lot more than what the trailer shows, or maybe less?

I only say less because the movie is surprisingly light on vehicular mayhem. There's no obnoxious POV shots of nitrous oxide pumping through the souped up injectors of some glued together foreign car. In fact, if you're a guy and expect some bad ass car action, you may be slightly disappointed. Also, you may be curious about the pink opening titles and 80's synth soundtrack of the movie.

But for people who could care less about the 0-60 speeds of every car in existence, you're going to love this movie.

Ryan Gosling plays the Driver, a man with no name, who barely furnishes his apartment, barely speaks, but can always be identified by the scorpion embroidered on the back of his racing jacket. He lives two lives, one as a mechanic and stunt driver working for Shannon (Bryan Cranston); the other is as a getaway driver. He has rules as a wheelman, from the time his clients walk in their destination they have 5 minutes to return. After that, he will take care of the rest. He doesn't want to know the details of the clients work, he is only concerned with finishing the job and getting paid.

While we've seen this character done before, most recently in the insanely preposterous "Transporter" series, the opening scene of the Driver on the getaway is one of the most tense and well-done scenes I've seen in a long time. It's a scene without a loud car chase through LA streets, but a quiet cat and mouse game between LAPD squad cars and helicopters. The pacing of the scene sucks you into the movie, and it's done without showing a lot of action. This is true throughout the whole movie; there's an overall tenseness and feeling of dread that hangs over the movie. I think it must be the minimalist approach by director Nicholas Winding Refn ("Bronson"), the viewer is always guessing and is always on the edge. A great example of this is an elevator scene later in the movie. Half of it is elegant, and feels very much like an old classic. But it is soon cut with a brutal fight scene that hits with sudden Tarantino-like precision.

Soon, the Driver begins a relationship with a neighbor played by Carey Mulligan. Her husband is recently arrived from a prison stint, and it is later revealed that he is in trouble with the local mob. They want him to pull a robbery at a pawn shop, and if he doesn't they will hurt him and his family. In order to protect Carey Mulligan and her son, the Driver agrees to help the husband with the pawn shop job. Things go awry during the robbery, and the Driver ends up in trouble with a local mob duo.

The plot is routine, but is lifted by the sharp dialog and the performances of its entire cast. Gosling barely says anything in the film, but his performance isn't dull at all. He exudes this Steve McQueen-like vibe, he says little and when he does speak his words pack a punch. He's the man with no name, and a great example of the existential hero. He exists only to drive.

The rest of the cast is also brilliant, especially Albert Brooks who plays his mob boss like a classic heavy. He is scary and brutal, and he gives probably the best performance of this kind since Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas". Bryan Cranston is also very good as Shannon, the father-figure to the Driver. Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman also have small roles and are both very good. Perlman especially chews up his scenes, and he gets several of the movies best lines.

The 80's-ish soundtrack is quite different for a movie of this type, but it is catchy and really adds tension to the film in a strange way.

Overall, "Drive" is a macho-action movie for Hipsters. It features a catchy 80's soundtrack, sharp dialog, minimal action and a lead character that will surely be imitated in years to come for Halloween.
Also, it's one of the best crime movies to come out in years. Highly recommended.

**** (out of 4)