Movie Review : Drive 2011

Plot: Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheel man for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver (Gosling) can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac). After a heist intended to pay off Standard’s protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they’re coming straight for Irene and her son, Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

How Do I love thee Ryan Gosling.. let me count the ways…

Verdict: Jokes aside, I really liked this film. Gosling’s impassive driver gets his Hollywood stunt gigs and maybe also his criminal engagements through a garage owner, a cheerful crook called Shannon (Bryan Cranston) with mob connections. Gosling’s life looks like it’s picking up when he falls quietly in love with his next-door neighbour Irene, played by the cute Carey Mulligan. She’s a single mom with a little boy who likes Gosling. Unfortunately Gosling has fallen for the wrong chick as her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is a jailbird about the be released. His nasty past catches up with him and he enlists the help of Gosling, to pay off his debts. Since Gosling is in love with Irene, he soon agrees to do one robbery with Standard. But his job is just to drive.

Naturally, the heist goes wrong and now Driver is in deep with notorious gangsters Bernie (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Perlman). Admittedly, this is a fairly standard plot for this type of film, but in this case it doesn’t really matter; it’s all about the execution, and Refn’s refreshing and original approach keeps the film from getting lousy. Albert Brooks has one of the more talkative characters in the film, and is a real big baddie in the movie – this is a role that we hardly see him play – which is cool. Ron Perlman is also great as the foul-mouthed villian, while Bryan Cranston effortlessly applies a lot of heart to his supporting role as Driver’s boss and loyal friend, Shannon.

Finally I have to add that though I enjoyed the film there was this one thing I found rather annoying.

Gosling has this one rule, which I thought was rather stupid. This is supposed to be a mark of his professionalism. He will drive the robbers as brilliantly as they could ever wish. But he will wait outside, in the car, for only five minutes. When the five minutes is up, no matter what happens, he drives off. What on earth is the point of a getaway driver who only waits 5 mins? And what does this have to do with anything? Both me and Cumi thought this was just bizarre, plus unexplained in the movie.

In conclusion, I end with this.. (again, because I can!)

How Do I love thee Ryan Gosling.. let me count the ways… 😛

Here is another fab show of Ryan Gosling’s that everyone should watch.