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• While interviewing Jessica Kyle, for her crossing boundaries meant being successful in the music industry at her age. That success means being able to constantly perform her own music instead of others. Jessy’s interview taught me how difficult it can be to chase a dream. Her interview also taught me to continue to achieve greatness if it’s an option. I discovered more about my cousin that I didn’t know. I knew the basic story of her success, but with her retelling her story, I discovered steps I would’ve needed to take to be just as successful. With Jessy not going to college- when most felt like she should’ve- and not going, she viewed that as crossing a boundary. Despite getting a college degree, she’s still successful by performing and composing. 

It is clear that Drive will be one of the best movies ever by just watching the first 10 minutes of the film. Immediately the audience is greated by a dark Los Angeles skyline as the camera soars over the city, a shot that frequently appears, and by a man in a scorpion jacket. As more about his character is revealed it becomes clearer that the scorpion represents how he will never really let anyone through his hard shell and is always defensive and protective of his true identity. He also never carries a gun on him and only uses what is readily available to him (much like a scorpion because they only use their tail sting). He turned out to be a very compelling and intense character to follow and watch as he moved with such swagger and hardly talked, as he met the girl (Irene) he became even more interesting because there was now a romance to be invested in. One of the cutest scenes was where her son came in with a mask on, Driver just said very flatly, "Scary. Want a toothpick?" This opened him up in a new way and as a result made him more involved in that family which lead to different choices that character happened to make. 

It may be because I have a soft spot for romances, but the best story happening was the one with Irene and Driver because she caused him to move out of his comfort zone in a few ways, but also gave him someone to protect. That said, the most important relationship in the movie was that between Driver and the little kid because all of a sudden everything that Driver was doing was for the safety of the kid. A scene where there was obviously a lot of character growth was where Driver and the kid where sitting on the couch together right after the incident with Standard in the parking garage. The kid was traumatized about what he had seen and was also given a small gold bullet, at that moment Driver knew that the kid's safety was one of the most important things to him because it would protect the family. It was where Drive really shifted gears to more of a gangster movie than a love story because Driver had a new purpose and decided to interject into the family's issues and help Standard out. 

This scene also brought a new theme to the table: the lengths someone would go to to protect what they love. This was incredibly apparent in the elevator scene (without a doubt the best scene in the entire film) where Driver knew what he had to do to protect Irene and the kid. He first went in for what seemed like a two-minute-long good-bye kiss with holy music playing in the background followed by a brutal head smashing of the bad guy with a piece. It was completely nuts, and after that, Irene definitely didn't talk to him anymore, so their entire relationship was down the drain, yet there was a full sense of closure. After that, Driver was probably a bit freer to do all of his work because he could still use his passion for completing the deed of finding where the money went to, but I honestly was a little confused about the mafia the whole time and didn't really understand the whole role they played because it seemed like all they really wanted was for Standard to bring them their million bucks and to kill some people. That was definitely they only aspect of the movie that I was entirely detached from. 

The kill scenes were all super epic because each time Driver had to kill someone we saw him from an extremely low angle which made him look so empowered over these people who would usually have the power over him. For example in the elevator scene, in the scene with the hammer in the strip club and where he kills the final gangster who stabs him. He also managed to stay somewhat anonymous in his work by never giving away his real name which meant that people looking for him could only find him through where he worked or where he lived, which he also kept very private. Every shot he was in was planned so that something new was revealed about his character even though he hardly talked, there was something that brought to life in his actions and the few words he did say. Another aspect of the film that brought his character to life was the bizarrely fitting 80's female vocal pop songs as a soundtrack to his actions. The words were so reflective of what he was doing, thinking and saying that it was almost difficult to consentrate on what he was really doing at times. It was definitely not the soundtrack I would have picked for the film, yet it seemed to work so beautifully as a contrast that it didn't really matter that it didn't fit the crazy murderous theme that was so prevalent. 

I have not stopped talking about this film since we first started watching it and I don't think I'll be able to stop for a while either. Everything about this film was just about perfect, from the soundtrack and the score, to the romance and his personal relationships, from the intense kill scenes to the car chases. The title Drive acts not only as a motif where Driver is actually driving, but also as a theme of what drives certain people to do certain things. 

Within the movie Goslings' character, tended to keep to himself. As the movie progresses he begins to develop emotions for a woman, who is currently married due to her husband being in Jail. Despite that she continues to develop the relationship between he and Golsing they're relationship is what drives the film forward without Irene the movie would be completely different. The director of this movie has a very unique way in making the relationship between characters stand out; whenever two characters within the movie in general the author takes into account the type of views each character has of each other he uses, angles, lighting, and the music to his advantage.   

As I watched the movie the Style of the movie gave you could say turned me on towards the movie. It was very retro style but it used it in all of the right ways no part of the movie was bad or unoriginal. Without a doubt as you watch may things will get you hooked but to me the thing that will have the largest effect on you is the musical note pad for each individual person. 

Overall Drive is a good move; one man, one car, one girl, and one life. This movie also consist of a very good back story to all the characters and is unraveled to the viewer as the movie progresses which allows it to make more sense.

After watching “Drive”, my opinion of the film was somewhat unappreciative in a sense. Prior to viewing Drive, I was informed that this was a movie that received several different awards such as Best Picture and Best Director. This gave me in some respects what many would call great expectations that weren’t fully met. I acknowledge that this was a very creative film but I felt as if at certain points in the film, I was unable to appreciate its artistic value.

Film Review 

Drive 

Drive isn't your typical "cops and robbers" film. The film bases its story around a guy and his car. Ryan Gosling is the driver for a getaway car which is evident in the opening scene. The opening sequence (the first 10 mins of the movie) gives you a first hand view on what it's like to be in "The Driver's" world. Showing close inside shots from the vehicle and no dialogue, you are on the edge of your seat while Gosling goes through obstacles to get away from the police. 

The opening sequence is a very important part of the film. Little to no dialogue shows exactly what kind of person The Driver is. It's clear that he has done this before based on the silence and calmness he creates. This scene gives us a view of Gosling's character without directly telling us who and what he does. Throughout the movie, Gosling's character is referred to "The Driver" showing his separation from the real world. 

Even though the opening scene portrays The Driver as a badass, of course the film creates some sort of love interest for this character. The Driver is asked to be the getaway driver for his neighbor who needs to pay back someone money, which he steals. In this important scene, the neighbor, Oscar Issac, conveniently gets killed during the robbery and conveniently leaves behind a wife. Of course this gives Gosling's character a chance to build a relationship with this woman. What kind of movie would it be if there wasn't a love story involved, especially one where she's in danger? 

The lighting in this movie was always dark and colors were bland and solid, giving you the felling of lack of liveliness and of course, danger. The Driver lives a dangerous life, which gets even more dangerous when he becomes on the bad side of the mob. Gosling's character spends the second half of the movie defending himself from the mob and of course protecting Irene's life, even if it means ruining their relationship from stomping a man's head off in an elevator. 

As the film's main storyline got more dramatic through the second half, so did the music. One particular scene where the musical score fit well was when Gosling goes to meet with the mob but ends up killing one of the members. As Gosling approaches the restaurant, which the gangsters own, a soft kind of creepy musical number plays while a woman softly sings. It gives you the vibe that something bad is going to happen, but without giving away how intense the next scene is. 

The overall story of Drive was a good one; a man, his car and danger. However, the love story was typical and unoriginal if I may say. Gosling's character made no character development and the "love story" seemed to just be there to catch the attention of a more diverse audience. 

Imagine taking the odd mystery and dark filming tone of "Fight Club" and combining it with the fast pace action and dynamic characters of "Transporter", Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive" is the outcome. Given the two films' reputation, one could infer that a similar combination of the two could result in an action packed, jaw dropping film, which "Drive" certainly provided; but one could also expect an original storyline and in depth characterization within the plot of the film, which it significantly lacked.

Ryan Gosling's "driver" or "the kid" or whoever his name really was, was an over-exaggerated an uncomfortably sporadic character. The opening scene set up what appeared to be a thrilling scene with a getaway driver who was skilled at what he was doing, but slowly faded into a boring conclusion as driver casually parked a car in a packed sports complex and walked out suspiciously, but with no confrontation from the police.

The one piece of positive feedback I will provide for this opening is the use of music and rhythm. The camera angles were very close up  but often focused on the background of the shot as the police helicopter searched for the suspects. The synchronization of the final seconds of the basketball game complimented the urgency of driver to get away from the cops. However, the only table setting that this scene was successful for, was introducing the lack of good dialogue and dull characterization of the protagonist.

In addition, there was a huge overuse of gore in this film. I'm sure that all action movie watchers enjoy seeing some nauseating murder scenes or destructive montages, but there was absolutely no build up to the action in this film. As a viewer, it was difficult for me to appreciate the girl getting her head blown off or  Driver's graphic stomping of the guy's face in the elevator, when there was no set up in the dialogue. The elevator scene could have easily shifted this movie from a forgotten piece of cinema to a work of art, if there were some compelling dialogue prior to it, or at least some deeper description of driver's character. Imagine trying to bring this scene up in a conversation to a friend 20 years from now:

"Hey, remember that bloody scene in the elevator… with that driver kid… yea I don't know his name, and there was no dialogue in the scene for me to jot your memory… oh well".

Cinematically this was a great movie, and a compelling scene. But the writing was horrible. The subplots were non suspensful. The characters had no depth, and worst of all, the protagonist didn't have a name. If your a future film maker, and are looking for examples of character development, plot structure, and diverse scene elements, "Drive" will successfully set you up for failure.