Best of 2011: #4 Drive

There's a scene near the end of the end of Drive that perfectly captures the entire existential complexity of the story and characters as well as the exquisite style of the filmmaker.  This one scene will tell you everything you need to know about this movie.

If you've talked to anyone about this movie, you've probably heard about it already.  But, I should probably just say it...SPOILER ALERT.



In this scene, three characters share an elevator.  The nameless hero of the movie, referred to only as Driver in the credits, is one of them.  The other two are woman named Irene, the object of both Driver's desire and potential salvation, and a would-be assassin.

When Driver notices that the other man in the elevator is carrying a pistol, he eases Irene into the corner, presumably to keep her safe.  As he turns around to face her, the lighting changes.  It's now darker and other-worldly, with a similar shift in the music.  It appears as though they've been transported into a fantasy.  They slowly, and briefly, kiss (and if you've seen the rest of the movie, you know that this is a long time coming).  And, then...Driver turns to face the assassin, smashes his head against the wall, knocks him to the ground, and then proceeds to stomp on him until he caves in his skull.

Few scenes in the history of cinema have successfully combined such slickness, sexiness, badassery, brutality, and, yes, beauty into a single scene.  It's only one or two minutes long, yet, once you see it, it sticks with you for days...and not just because the violence is gross...which it is.  It sticks with you, I believe, because the shift in tone and style is so abrupt and the contradictory nature of the main character is so evident that it's horrifying and surprising.  Yet, at that moment, everything that transpires also seems inevitable.

Plus, the scene is just so well crafted that you have no choice to applaud it.  From the performances, the camera work and lighting, to the music and the sound -- including the sound of a man being stomped to death -- that moment is, in and of itself, a technical masterpiece.

But, guess what...there's a whole movie here that's almost as good as that one scene.

Driver is played by Ryan Gosling.  As you might guess by both his name and the title of the movie, he's a driver.  By day, he's both a Hollywood stunt driver and a hapless mechanic and, by night, he is a getaway driver for hire, offering his uncanny abilities to two-bit thieves and thugs.

The movie opens with him on one of these jobs.  After waiting for his clients to complete a robbery, he helps them escape from the police.  It is one of the most innovative and supremely edited car chase scenes you'll ever come across.

Then come the opening credits.  The audience hears the whine of '80s-style synth music and sees names in pink cursive light up the screen and it becomes very, very clear: this movie is going to be insanely cool.  And, there's not a moment in the movie that puts that initial assessment into doubt.

Gosling's Driver is an old movie archetype, the nameless hero in need of redemption from an unseen past.  He's a samurai, a lone-gunman.  He doesn't say much.  We don't know where he came from or what made him what he is.  We just know that he's capable of incredible things behind the wheel of a car and that he's damaged and in need a lifeline.

The lifeline comes in the form of Irene, his neighbor, played by Carey Mulligan.  She's beautiful, a little naive, and, along with her son, completely vulnerable.  Driver falls for her instantly, and the feeling is apparently mutual, that is until her husband is surprisingly released from prison.  When the husband's old debts threaten the safety of Irene and her son, Driver decides to help him out the only way he can.  He offers his services as a getaway driver in what will hopefully be the proverbial one last score.

Up to now, Driver has been able to remain free of attachments to the criminal elements he works with.  He is, after all, just a driver.  He goes to great lengths to avoid contact and relationship with his clients.

But, when this heist goes bad, he is pulled knee-deep into the criminal underworld.  And, the only way to protect himself and Irene is commit a number of almost unspeakable acts of violence.  I've already given you an ample taste of that element, I believe...so, no need to go into further detail.

Gosling gives a terrific performance in a role that would have seemed intentionally subdued and boring if given by a lesser actor.  Mulligan is kind of a blank slate, her only job is to seem desirable, which she's innately able to pull off, so no complaints here.

The rest of the supporting cast is nothing short of superb.  Bryan Cranston plays Driver's boss, a mechanic with a dream of owning and managing a stocking racer and driver. Albert Brooks plays a crime boss and gives a performance that seemed destined to garner an Oscar nomination...but, he was robbed.

Drive was directed by Nicolas Refn, and, ultimately, he is the real star of this movie.  The story and the characters are compelling, to be sure.  But, it is Refn's stylistic and technical prowess that make the movie unforgettable.  The only other movie of his I'd seen before this one was 2009's Bronson, another bleak and violent film (which, incidentally, features a brilliant performance by Tom Hardy).  But, nothing in that movie hinted at the talent that's on display with Drive.  


If you can't tell, this is not a movie for everyone.  It was one of the most highly acclaimed and most talked about movies of 2011, but it is not for the faint of heart.  But, if you can stomach the violence -- I don't know what it says about me that I was able to -- you should see this movie.


This is the elevator scene.  If my description above wasn't ample warning, you should know before watching it that it ends very violently.