Drive
2011
***
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks
A quiet and nameless getaway/stunt driver grows close to a woman and her young son next door. When her husband returns from prison and puts the family in danger, the driver offers his help. Nicolas Winding Refn's cool and hypnotic film is deliberately paced and beautifully shot, and its electronic soundtrack is just about perfect. The first half is an intriguing romantically flavoured drama about two lonely souls. When things begin to fall apart at halfway point, it turns into a pulpy and frankly stupid crime story, which becomes so needlessly violent that I had to look away at times. The gruesome carnage could be justified if it served a point, but instead, it made me completely lose my investment in the main character. Ryan Gosling doesn't say much, but he's an intense presence in the lead. Adapted from a novel by James Sallis.
