DRIVE...

Drive is the third English-language film from the acclaimed Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising), and recently attracted plenty of attention at Cannes for its super-cool soundtrack and mish-mash of genres, whilst featuring rising star Ryan Gosling in the leading role. Alongside Gosling is our very own Carey Mulligan, and they're joined by Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks to make up a pretty impressive cast for an independent production. The film follows a quiet, seemingly reserved Hollywood stuntman who works as a getaway driver on the side, and finds himself embroiled in an increasingly violent situation after a heist goes horribly wrong.

The most notable factor of the film is the general style and feel, which had me reminiscing of Walter Hill's iconic movie The Warriors with it's neon-soaked city views and even the main protagonist's signature silver stunt jacket (almost identical to one of the gang's jackets from the 70's cinema classic). Another key influence in my opinion was the films of Stanley Kubrick, who had a gift for holding a shot as long as possible without losing the effect, creating visual paintings with the camera. There were moments in Drive when I found myself transfixed by the cinematography and its ability to suck my eyes into the screen with little mercy, such as a moment when The Driver (Gosling's character is unnamed) is gazing out across Los Angeles's cityscape from his apartment. The camera creeps up on the characters with tight mid-shots in sometimes rather claustrophobic settings (corridors, diners) and clings to them, creating a sense of paranoia and unease and provokes a feeling of impending danger to the initial calmness of the film.

The music in the film deserves all the praise it has been given by critics and film fans alike. There are 5 original tracks (my favourite being Kavinsky's gloomy robotic electro masterpiece "Nightcall") with the score itself composed by ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Cliff Martinez, who he does a fantastic job. Many of his compositions start out in a minimalistic and atmospheric fashion, beginning slowly and calmly before they build up into more frequent stabs of bass and erratic synthesisers during scenes of tension and dread.

The film explores the theme of loneliness very well, with Gosling doing a brilliant job as the mysterious and (at first) emotionless main character who cruises the streets at night as if he were a devoted superhero protecting the city from evil. The character's most interesting feature is his psychological transition: from the kind, helpful neighbour in the first half of the film during the cosy homelife scenes, into the vengeful, no-bullshit hero of it's second half. The dark ultraviolence which occurs later in the film might be exaggarated, but it still retains its shocking impact despite the B-movie/Grindhouse-feel of the picture during other segments and shows us another side to Gosling's troubled character. Refn doesn't hesitate to brandish his inspirations in this film, and in my opinion it only improves his skills as a director. The melting pot of genres (New wave film? Car movie? Horror/slasher? Romance? Crime flick?) also challenges the audience and keeps things fresh, whilst displaying Refn's love of cinema and his appreciation of the different styles and movements within the world of film.

Drive is a wonderful piece of work and should not be missed.