Drive Review

To first start off my review, I was force to see Drive, a movie directed by Nicolas Windng Refn of a stuntman whom has a very mysterious, private persona. When I first watched this film, I thought of how much it compares to The Transporter. A film directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen and one of my favorite actors to watch, Jason Statham playing this killer bad driver. Watching a movie like Drive made me dislike it because it was nothing to what I was use to like in The Transporter. After watching this film again, I've taken interest in the close up shots of Ryan Gosling’s entrance in the first 10 minutes of the film and throughout the whole movie I was noticing many close-up shots. I felt like the director, wanting a majority of the shots to be close-ups so that we can get a better feel of the characters and what they go through. Just like The Transporter, there's a robbery scene and a get away scene from the police officers. Ryan was just so non-chalant, driving away from the police officers. You've seen no fear in his eyes. He was just so concentrated and what he did and how he did it. It was different and I liked how suave and chilled it was compared to the transporter. Both actions packed with rules to follow but both drivers persona was very different. I really like the scene where it introduces the drivers "everyday life" and how his skills gave him another life to "cherish".  

I did not have any interest in this movie at first because of the lack of dialogue throughout this movie. I felt like it was a silent movie with just noise. I wanted more dialogue, more of a story to this movie. That's why at first I didn't like it. But after watching it a second time, I was more focused on the individual characters and shots. They were good but if the movie were as good as the characters and the shots themselves, I would have enjoyed it the first time I've watched it. My favorite scene in this movie was the elevator scene where Ryan devoured the face of the man that was seconds away from killing him. You've heard this very tranquil song; "A Real Hero" by College Ft. Electric Youth while Ryan was crushing the guy face. You can hear the crushing of the skull and you can see the fear in Irene's eyes. After the job was done, Ryan turned his face in accomplishment and fear because of the look on Irene's face horror in her eyes. That one scene was just so powerful and spoke so much about Irene and Ryan’s character. The shot was amazing the lighting focusing on the characters expressions made you feel like you've just taken their place. It felt like I was in the film right there beside them because I was so drawn in.

The props in the film created the characters. Ryan and his scorpion jacket he wore throughout the film. I felt that the jacket was very symbolic. I felt the jacket was his way of hiding his true self to the public; he was a killer badass within. He didn't have as much objects with him early in the movie until close to the end where he smashed the living hell out of Cook's hands played by James Biberi with a hammer. I felt the pain and was just afraid at how much power Ryan had. The bird's eye view of Ryan made you feel like yeah, I was the badass but now this bird has power of me now, I'm helpless. 

Ryan was just a very interesting man to the viewers, his neighbors, and friends. He put himself in a situation where I felt was a waste a time to get involved with but maybe that was the point of the story to have some dramatic twist. Ryan may have wanted to get involved just because of Irene, the girl he fell for who is taken by a man who came out of prison for a crime that dealt with money. Standard, Irene’s husband just got out prison to yet put him self into a situation again dealing with money. He had to pay off cook and Ryan made himself available in order to help out Standard. Standard gets murdered and Ryan wants to finish the job for the safety of Irene and her son. His love for them is strong and he wants to make sure the people who done this to Standard will receive serious pain. He is stopping at nothing, he has his mind set on determination and driving.

There were many scenes where I felt grabbed my attention thoroughly. Where Ryan had the moment in the elevator with Irene and the lighting dimmed only on them two. The scene was very powerful showing so much emotion within the characters at that one moment. How Irene went from not wanting to get involved with Ryan but in the elevator cracked. Another scene that showed so much power, it held my attention the whole time was when Ryan drove away at then end of the film. Although it was the ending scene I felt like this was his life something he couldn’t let go of. A connection a relationship with driving that no one could bare to take away. At first, the thought of Irene and Ryan together made me think that would be the relationship in the film but its exactly all about the people you let in your life there’s more.

The scenes that were well connected to the overall storyline were Ryan’s driving. His driving skills throughout the film created his character created who he was. Nothing and no one got in his way of what I believed he loved to do. I can honestly say that his connection with driving is like my connection to Channing Tatum. He is a character in the film that made the scenes more interesting and dramatic in a way although the film was kind of quiet in my view. The overall film has a sense and achievement in getting you at the edge of your seat when you least expect it.