Drive (2011) R

It's taken me weeks to find time to write this review, and I just hope that you had a chance to catch this thrilling drama when it was still in most theaters. I'm sure you've heard the buzz surrounding Drive for some time, but that doesn't mean you manned up and took a chance on it. Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising) has proven himself overseas with some terrific films, especially Tom Hardy's (Warrior, Inception) breakout film Bronson. With this being his first American film, he's really outdone himself and created one of the best films in recent memory. It came as no surprise that the cinematography was breathtaking. Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Three Kings) is one of the best in the business, and Winding Refn's films are always top notch in that category. The original music by Cliff Martinez (Solaris, Traffic) set a deep, dark tone which helped capture the hearts of film-goers everywhere. As the opening credits begin to roll in hot pink, Kavinsky's "Nightcall" gets the film started out on a perfect pitch. It's a catchy tune that was chosen quite wisely.

The film opens with our heroin (Ryan Gosling) talking to someone on a pay-phone. This may sound odd, but we never learn the name of Gosling's character. I actually didn't realize this until I dug deeper into the film. It's a quiet film, with not a ton of dialogue, and his name obviously doesn't matter a whole lot when it's all said and done. I will call him "Driver" as it does on most websites. Driver explains on the phone, "If I drive for you, you get your money. That's a guarantee. Tell me where we start, where we're going and where we're going afterwards, I give you five minutes when you get there. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours, no matter what. Anything a minute either side of that and you're on your own. I don't sit in while you're running it down. I don't carry a gun. I drive." Later that day, Driver's boss and good friend Shannon (Bryan Cranston) shows him the car in which he will use for the upcoming robbery. The car is clean and inconspicuous. Shannon obviously knows what Driver does on his free time, and is behind him 100%. He trusts his ability as a driver to get out of any jam.

Later that night, Driver arrives on a random street corner and picks up two masked men. He drives the men to a building in a quiet part of Los Angeles. The men get out and break into a building soon after. Driver then sets his stop watch to five minutes. While the two burglars do their business he listens to the Clippers game on the radio. The game is closing in on the end of the 4th quarter.

It isn't long before the first man comes out with a large bag (presumably filled with cash), but Driver is losing his patience as five minutes is almost up. He switches the radio to a police frequency and hears chatter that describes a robbery in process at their location. Finally, the second man comes sprinting out of the building holding another large bag of cash. Driver then races out of the neighborhood as numerous cop cars are closing in. He originally believes they made it out without being spotted until he hears their make and model get described on the frequency. Driver pulls up at a red light, opposite a police car. He knows for a fact that the policeman knows exactly who they are. When the light flashes green he turns on the afterburners and speeds right past the cop. The police car follows close behind. Now a police helicopter has zeroed in on their location and shines a spotlight on them. Things are looking grim.

Minutes pass as he maneuvers his way through traffic and tries to outrun the police. He eventually loses the cop cars and the helicopter momentarily. He then cranks her into high gear and races his way through oncoming traffic and into Staples Center parking lot as the Clippers game has just ended. Loads of people flock through the parking lot and into the streets outside the arena. Driver pops on his Clippers hat for good measure as he walks right past a number of cops as he exits onto the street and into safety. Close call? Maybe, but he certainly wasn't sweating.

After the ferocious chase, Driver heads back to his apartment, hops in his magnificent car, and hits the road once again for a night drive. It's a wonderful opening scene, and it's followed by fantastic shots of the bright lights of Los Angeles. Over the next few days we get to see Driver work at his other two jobs. He's a stuntman for a major movie company, a mechanic for Shannon's body shop and of course a getaway driver for nefarious criminals. He's one busy dude.

The quiet Driver meets a young, pretty woman (Carey Mulligan) one afternoon. After her car breaks down one day at a nearby grocery store, Driver offers to help them out. He has it towed to Shannon's shop and helps carry her groceries to her apartment. She actually lives two doors down from Driver, believe it or not, and also has a son. His name is Benicio (Kaden Leos), and her name is Irene. Mulligan (An Education, Never Let Me Go) is one of the best young actresses alive, and she's terrific as usual here. She goes onto explain that her husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac) is in prison after one too many petty crimes. Irene and Driver begin to spend a lot of time together, but do not get intimate.

While their relationship begins to blossom, Shannon gets in deep with the local mob boss (Albert Brooks). He doesn't know this yet of course, but mob bosses are never good people. He gets a $300,000 loan from Bernie (Brooks) for a race-car. The race-car will be driven by Driver of course. Bernie and his load, raunchy colleague Nino (Ron Perlman) are not the type of people you would want to mess with in any way, shape or form.

When Standard gets released from prison, Irene and Driver spend less and less time together. He also rarely gets to see Benicio, who he's become very fond of. Standard has heard all about Driver's heroics and how he has "cared" for the family, but doesn't want to see anymore of him. A few days later, Driver witnesses Standard getting assaulted and threatened in their apartment parking lot. Standard owes some bad dudes some big time cash from before his stint in prison. Standard doesn't have the money, and he swears he'll never do another "job" for the rest of his days. The people he owes money to will never quit until they get paid, or he and his family are dead. Driver offers to help, being as Irene and Benecio have now been threatened. He also sees Standard's sincerity as he's trying to clean up his life.

They find a job that will erase their problems. The job is to rob a grimy pawn shop on the edge of town. It's not the busiest area, and there isn't a whole lot of traffic going in and out of the pawn shop. Driver will be the, well, the driver, Standard will do the holdup and the new girl, Blanche (Christina Hendricks), will snag the cash. Easy in and out. Problem solved.

False. I'm not going to give anything more away beyond this point. However, I will say that there will be blood, and lots of it. There are car cashes, heads kicked in and faces blown clear off. There are three or four unforgettable scenes that make this film an instant classic.

The first half of the film is a beautifully shot drama/romance with witty dialogue, tremendous scores and a few thrilling chase scenes. The second half of this film is a grotesque action/thriller with blood on the walls, loads of anger and fantastic bursts of violence. It's a must see film if there ever was one this year. It's been a real tough year for the America cinema, and this film is above and beyond all the rest of the competition. The direction is top notch, the cinematography is amazing, the music is pitch perfect, the acting rings true and the storyline is very interesting.

Gosling (Blue Valentine, Stay) has proven himself as one of the best young actors in Hollywood, and I always tune in when his films come to town. Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") is always a treat and works well with both Gosling and Albert Brooks (Broadcast News, Taxi Driver). Brooks has gotten loads of praise for his performance here, and for good reason. Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Alien: Resurrection) isn't a great actor, but he's quite good here and has never been bad in any of his films. Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men") has a small role, but she's good, although not all that memorable. The script by Hossein Amini (The Four Feathers, The Wings of the Dove) is possibly his best yet; it's a terrific adaptation.

It's simple; if this film is still available to view in your area, then seek it out. Please be advised that there are buckets of blood spilled, a scene of sexuality and some mild language. This film is for adults only, so please use judgement. Drive is a perfect example of why we go to the movies. It's thrilling, funny, romantic, violent, old-school, different and extremely entertaining. See. This. Film.
A+