Photo by: streetlegaltv.com
Suspense gets behind the wheel and never relinquishes control in the new action thriller “Drive,” starring Ryan Gosling.
As a filmmaker, constructing continual tension is a tough trick to master; however, director Nicolas Winding Refn (“Bronson,” “Valhalla Rising”) is flawless in his execution, manufacturing layers upon layers of wild excitement as he tracks the film’s untitled protagonist (Gosling) through Los Angeles’ gritty terrain.
Cliff Martinez infuses an impeccable soundtrack comprised of synth-based electro-pop songs such as “Nightcall,” “Under Your Spell” and “A Real Hero,” which all set the mood for this action-thriller.
Although Gosling’s Hollywood stuntman is the center of the film, a good deal of ambiguity encompasses him up until the film’s final frame.
Gosling once again shines, inhabiting a character that is capable of raging violence as well as genuine sincerity toward those who intersect him on his road to nowhere. It’s a duality that only a top-shelf actor could achieve.
Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos) intrude into the plot as the driver’s new neighbors. As the trio’s relationship blossoms in the western sunset, it becomes clear to the audience that these two strangers are everything that this loner has and that he is dedicated to protecting them by any means necessary.
There isn’t much backstory for this bleak and dominantly silent character. As his agent Shannon, played terrifically by “Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston, tells Irene, he showed up “out of the blue” one day and went to work. Besides that, there’s nothing else really to know.
While the stuntman ignites sparks with Irene, the love story acts as a predictable and formulaic story-line; however, it serves as a necessary plot point as Irene’s ex-convict husband emerges from prison only to entangle the nameless driver in a whirlwind of criminal mischief.
The second half of the movie explodes in a violent roar as Refn decides to turn this crime-drama into an unexpected, gory thrill ride.
When the stuntman finds himself in possession of a large sum of money after a hotel shootout, he has no choice but to act as a silent guardian and a watchful protector of those he cares for.
His intentions are to remain silent and unknown, yet he chooses to have the spotlight on him as long as it isn’t on the innocent. He will be whatever is required of him as long as nobody gets hurt, but if they do—watch out.
Gosling’s better work is done when he cracks through the blank shell he wears throughout most of the movie and emerges as a ruthless destroyer of evil.
Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman give frightening turns as big-time organized crime members Bernie and Nino. They are a pair of dangerous partners looking to make a quick buck through a cheap scheme; however, their conniption only sustains them for so long as greed is overtaken by the driver’s humility.
The driver proves that it’s not easy trying to live a life of shadows when darkness is the only thing surrounding you – a powerful message that comes at the end of the film.
Although he never intends to be it, the driver cruises off into the sinister L.A. night as the film’s proverbial “hero,” embracing his role as a targeted man with a big bull’s-eye on his back and knowing only one escape exists.
Despite the lack of closure, we still want to know where the driver is going even though the answer doesn’t really matter to the plot of the movie.
He is a dark knight—a person that should be praised for his actions, but never will be.
