I'm a cinefile by nature, it could be argued that most guys are- but there are moments every once in a great while where I see a flick that absolutely floors me. Those are the movies that I feel like gabbing about like a gossipy girl the whole way home (and often the next day). Assuming that the remainder of the year fills me up proper with a few goofy comedies and a popcorn flick or two, there's a good chance the title of "My Favorite of 2011" goes to director Nicolas Winding Refn (who's "Bronson" with Tom Hardy, I'd highly recommend) and his new flick DRIVE.
Let me start off by saying, this movie already had me interested based on its UK print campaign alone- I haven't seen turquoise and hot pink used so eloquently since the days of big hair and Gary Numan. Consider me SOLD! Then throw in the ever-dreamy heartthrob (I get it ladies, those puppydog eyes? You just wanna smash his face in... I mean snuggle.) Ryan Gosling and you have a movie that might just garnish the 10pm friday movie crowd's 10 dollars.
They're thinking: "It's got The Notebook dudebrah and he's driving getaway cars? Dude, I'm fuggin there! I love those Transporter movies."
Cut to the first five minutes of the movie which open on a credits montage of upper-LA richly soaked in vibrant blues and those same hot pink credits to the soundtrack of a velvety sprawling synth tune. Those same guys in the back sum up their feelings thusly: "Fuck is this gay shit?"
Well, it's not The Transporter.
Drive is what happens when a visually compelling director steps into new territory and opens the camera up to see something in a completely different way that its been seen before. Something where the setting almost becomes a character. LA trips the light fantastic in subdued beauty that (arguably) bests Michael Mann when he wasn't shooting movies on cell phone cameras (*ahem* Public Enemies *ahem*).
Mister Gosling, our story's nameless protagonist, owns the role in EVERY scene. Often times wordless, channeling the grisly and ice cold stare of Bullitt-era McQueen as he stoically almost-interacts with neighborgirl Carey Mulligan and her son. There's a romance there- but it's not played out with Hollywood's ever-present over-compensating dialogue or gratuitous sex scenes to a shitty Coldplay song- WATCH their faces. Their body language. Drive plays out like a study in human interaction- it's no wonder the guys in the back weren't following it, women are always saying that men can't read signals!
(See this picture above? That shot alone explains EVERYTHING about these characters)
The shots Refn uses to tell the story add to the subtle storytelling even more so- not once is there a neon light pointing to Gosling screaming "THIS IS THE GUY YOU'RE ROOTING FOR!", instead he favors strategic camera angles and wide-lens hero shots, empowering his presence without you even realizing it among the sparse-dialogue.
There's talking though. And the dialogue never sounds stilted or knee-jerk worthy- because the heavy conversation is handled by people you WANT to hear talk; like Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston or Sons of Anarchy (or Hellboy, your choice) star Ron Pearlman. Cranston, especially, owns the faux-paternal role to Gosling even when the shit hits the fan I completely forget he was on Malcom In The Middle.
The biggest applause I can give this movie, doesn't go for the beautiful cinematography or the recklessly enjoyable cast- I'm giving my props to the Director, who deservingly just took home the Best Director honor from Cannes Film Festival. Nicolas Winding Refn creates a world of LA that is lived in and unfamilliar simultaneously and masterfully winds a pace that both intrigues and keeps you waiting for the other shoe to drop. I haven't been this wound by a movie's tension in ages- and the manner in which each scene jumps from 0-80mph without a moment's notice (and often with gasp-worthy shock) is a welcomed change from the usual "totally saw that coming" response I have to most "intensity" in most summer movies.
As much as I love plotless, goofball, popcorn faire- it's a pleasant surprise to go to a movie and NOT get slapped in the face with the plot, subtext or the character development. Granted, it's not for everybody (sorry to the dudes in the back that wanted some Statham-worthy action), but for the handful of friends I know that appreciate something with a little substance with their entertainment- this is pretty godamn great.
...oh, and the soundtrack? I don't care what you say- SYNTHESIZERS MAKE ANY SCORE BETTER. Take notes Danny Elfman. Cliff Martinez FTW!
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