Drive (2011)

Drive is the film that I have seen at the cinema more than any other. This doesn't make it the best film I've seen it at the cinema, I don't even know if it's the best film I saw at the cinema in the month it came out, however, what I do know is that it is what the movies are all about. Some people have been critical of this film, saying that it was style over substance, but to me that makes it sound like a Zack Snyder movie, like a pet project of someone who's good at making stuff look good and little else. However, this film is filled with heart, with iconic characters and great performances which really create a wonderful, beautiful film that is not only a heck of a lot of fun to watch, but that genuinely moves you at the end of it all.

The Story is simple, Ryan Gosling is the Driver, he doesn't get involved in the crimes, he just drives them where they need to be. By day he's a stunt driver in the movies and a mechanic. His neighbour Irene has a husband in jail and a young son benicio, after her car breaks down the two of them hit it off and become close (though never lovers), Irene's husband Standard is released from Prison and despite trying to leave the life of crime behind him, he's threatened into doing one more job. Upon learning this The Driver offers to help him on this job to protect Irene and Benicio, but unfortunately the job goes sour and there's foul play that he must take care of.

First of all there have been jokes made about this film, that there is about as much dialogue in it as The Artist (a silent film), and whilst there isn't much dialogue in it, it's because there doesn't need to be. Carey Mulligan's Irene and Ryan Gosling's Driver seem naturally connected, through their infinite stares and subtle smiles the two are naturally comfortable in each others company, and whilst nothing can happen between them because at the end of the day Irene loves her husband, you know that the two of them have a special bond. The relationship between Benicio and the driver is also brilliantly played out, one of the things that the two of them seem to do every time they meet is stare each other out, with Benicio nearly always losing. The two barely say much to each other, but The Driver seems to connect with Benicio too, he doesn't pander to him, treats him like an equal and is a surrogate father to him whilst his dad is in Prison.

The supporting cast here are of the finest quality too. You've got Ron Pearlman and Albert Brooks as two gangsters with very different temperaments, Bryan Cranston as the driver's employer and friend, Christina Hendricks as another member of the doomed robbery, and to be honest, each of them shines through and when you recall the film you recall each of them as having had larger parts in it than they could possibly have had in what is also quite a short film at 100 minutes long.

The film is very stylish, soft lighting makes LA look like one of the most beautiful cities in the world at night, it has an 80s sounding soundtrack (though all tracks were modern), and somehow manages to make a jacket with a scorpion on the back seem cool. So yes, it is very stylish, but what shines through for me more than anything else in the film is the relationships that the driver forms with people. He's incredibly charming without being sleazy, without saying much he conveys more kindness of heart and more warmth than any other character on screen, and even when we discover his dark side as we do in some of the films more violent moments, we like him, because he's a good hearted man. That is what sticks with me, the warmth of the film, that and the soundtrack, which is simply sublime.

So yes, watch this film, it's fast become a comfort film for me, one I will stick on when I'm sad or just want something fun to watch, I can't see it ever becoming old hat, or boring, I simply see it as a modern masterpiece, a film that will definitely be a cult classic for years to come.