Drive

I just saw Drive, and I'm kind of at a loss for (pink) words. This is rare for me since I usually have an easier time writing about a movie than talking about it, but I'll do my best.

Obviously I loved this movie, I knew that would be the case before I even watched it, now I just need to figure out what to say to give it justice. 

I'll start with one other obvious point, Ryan Gosling and the story he told in talk show interviews about how the film came to be were a big draw for me to see Drive. He said he was driving with the film's eventual director Nicolas Winding Refn and an REO Speedwagon song came on that prompted their decision to make a movie about a guy who drives around and listens to music.

The result: a story about a stunt/getaway driver who is as much of a bad guy as he is a hero. Throw in some 80s-sounding music, romance, mobsters and a lot of intense violence and you get Drive.

Gosling plays the aforementioned stunt/getaway driver who gets too involved in one of his jobs and has to protect himself and love interest, Irene (played by Carey Mulligan). Gosling's character is billed as Driver and, as far as I could tell, never says his real name. It is a subtle, but significant, detail that adds to the mystery about who his character really is.

After he gets involved in a driving job that doesn't go as he planned, Driver goes on a path to do anything he can to right the wrongs and especially protect Irene and her son.

I don't like violence, mainly because it turns me into the dork in the theater with her hands over her face, but it didn't turn me off from Drive. With this film, Gosling added mysterious bad ass to the list of roles he plays perfectly. Albert Brooks is getting rave reviews for his screen time and Bryan Cranston has a strong supporting part as Driver's boss/friend.

I hope everyone (just not the kiddies) sees Drive. I think it's a film that on the surface may look like something it's not (as in just another action flick), but if you're on the edge of deciding whether to see it, please give it a chance.