Drive

Ryan Gosling is one of the most talented fresh actors to hit the screen in the last 10 years. He seems to understand the importance of choosing different characters and different genres, without beeing a drama queen. When this movie won the Cannes Film Festival for best director award, i was very curious of what Drive had to offer. Is Drive just a movie about driving cars, or is this another quality motion picture served from mr Gosling once again?

The Driver ( Ryan Gosling ) works as a mechanic, stuntman and as a driver, but only for small jobs. Living in a cheap appartment, he tries to stay as simple as possible. His neighbour Irene ( Carey Mulligan ) begins to hang out with The Driver, as they get along very well. Shannon ( Bryan Canston ) arranges jobs for The Driver and owns the garage, he is impressed over how well The Driver can handle a vehicle. Shannon talks to gangster Bernie Rose ( Albert Brooks ), that he should purchase a stock car, for The Driver to use between races. Irene´s husband Standard ( Oscar Isaac ) is out of prison, but have a big problem. He owns alot of money to criminal gangster Cook ( James Biberi ), who threatens to kill Irene and his son, if he don´t get the money. The Driver offers to help them, but this will also put his life in danger.

Drive is exactly what i was hoping for. A very elegant thriller drama, made by danish Punisher director Nicolas Winding Refn. The night scenes are beautiful, while Ryan Gosling drives through the big city, with so many small details that gives you thrills. On paper it´s nothing original, but with such powerful perfomances and elegantly well made scenes, Drive gives you the perfect balance of intelligent film making. It´s great to see that movies like these are still beeing made, and not just for box office profit. In the end, most movies that come out are forgotten after 3 months, while some titles are worth more attention. Drive is deffinetely a must buy.

Rating: DDDD