Drive

So, last night I sat down to rewatch 'Drive'.

I'd seen it only once before and I'd enjoyed it greatly. It'd been about a year and half since the first viewing so I thought I'd give it another go just to make sure that my initial adoration wasn't me being brain-washed by the hype.

Gosling in action.

I'm pleased to say, upon second viewing, it's just as good, if not better, than I first thought. Indeed, I began to notice the wonderful layers to the film that I'd probably overlooked the first time.

Sure, it's easy to take the film at face value (and a very pretty face it is, too!) but I feel that is doing everyone involved an injustice. I've said films work "in every possible way" before, but it has never been truer than of 'Drive'.

By golly, it's wondrous. From the soundtrack, to the cars, to the casting to the costume, everything gels and works in a splendid mélange of seedy realism. Of course, mix that with some hyped up violence and you get the sorts of tones I feel directors like Tarantino often strive for but don't quite achieve.

Director, Nicolas Winding Refn
gives Gosling a few pointers.

One of the things I found most impressive about this violence, wasn't necessarily the visual gore of Ryan {spoiler ahead, highlight to reveal} the penultimate scene wherein the Driver meets an untimely end at the point of Bernie Roses' blade. A truly haunting scene, I'm sure you'll agree!
Gosling's 'Driver' stamping a man's face it, but the sounds that accompanied it. The stomach-churning audio of crunching bone and squelching brain matter left this particular viewer tittering with sensory-glee. This is also true of the fight in the motel room when a henchman gets stabbed in the chest, only to hear blood spilling from him like so much red paint. However, neither of these instances are anything like the wondrously realistic sound effect of

The Driver at the wheel.

Of course, it'd be lazy of me not to mention the sheer power and majesty of Gosling's career-making performance. What's most impressive about his turn as the eponymous Driver isn't that he creates a new personality for his character, rather, that the character is completely devoid of personality. It's impressive when an actor can make you  believe everything its' character says. It's even more impressive when they can make you believe nothing they say, but for all the right reasons. Gosling achieves this with masterful control in every scene he is in. Indeed, it'd be easy to retro-cast this film with none-other than James Dean playing the lead role, and that's not a compliment I pay lightly!

A wonderful poster mock-up for a 1950s set 'Drive'.

Of course, it's performances like this that kicked the former Mickey Mouse Club member off of his
romance-film laurels and into a more impressive realm of performances. From 'Drive' to 'Gangster Squad' to 'A Place Beyond the Pines', Gosling goes strength to strength and long may it continue.

The Driver's style is often immitated,
never bettered.

As I'm sure you'll remember, when 'Drive' first came out everyone went insane for the trademark scorpion
satin jacket that the Driver wears throughout. And rightly so, the costume designer did a marvellous job of creating a look for the character that was, at once, both everyone and no-one. I can't help but want everything Gosling wears in the movie, especially those glorious brown leather driving gloves! I'll be sure to put them on my Christmas list.

The cinematography and the music work hand in hand to create an all encompassing cinematic experience, even when watched at home. The fact that it's easy to immerse oneself entirely in the film while lounging around the house is no mean feat and is one that many Hollywood films of late seem to have stumbled upon. 'Drive', however, succeeds in all aspects of this and only serves, like a fine wine, to get better with age.

Be seeing you.

P.S. If any of you lovely people actually wanted to get their grubby little mitts on a replica of that famous jacket, you can do so by clicking this doobly-do: http://www.shop-steady.com/Drive-Mens-Replica-Racer-Jacket-p/drive001.htm