Anything Goes : Drive (2011) by Ryan Dennison

Drive (2011) - *** Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence, language and some nudity Runtime: 98 minutes Starring: Ryan Gosling - Driver Carey Mulligan - Irene Bryan Cranston - Shannon Albert Brooks - Bernie Rose Oscar Isaac - Standard Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn Written by: Hossein Amini (based on the book of the same name by James Sallis) “Drive” opens up with a mysterious, unnamed man (Gosling, only credited as “Driver”) in a low-key lit hotel room on a cell phone. He tells whomever is on the other line that he will only grant them five minutes to do their business, and after that, he’s gone. Next, he pulls up to a street corner with two, suspicious types right there. They put masks on a run into a garage of sorts and start robbing it, resulting in the alarm going off. From there, Driver times them, with one making his way into the car in only about two minutes. He waits frantically for the other one, knowing the Driver only issued them five minutes before leaving no matter what. The other guy makes it in time and the trio are off. Through a police scanner, Driver is able to track the LAPD’s movements. Through a stylized spectacle of driving through the streets of L.A., Driver is able to elude the police and pull into a garage adjacent to Staples Center. A crowd of Clippers fans appear to be jubilant from a victory over the visiting team, and Driver blends in with them perfectly. He leaves the two robbers in the car and walks away, not a care in the world. The rest of the film, however, takes a different turn. Not much of scenes like the one just mentioned, but more a study of how the other characters relate to one another. Some friendships are formed, but others are just made into enemies. Driver is friends with Shannon (Cranston), who appeared briefly in the beginning, and clearly is the one that sets up the cars needed for the getaways. But during the day, Driver and Shannon run a legit auto body shop. Enter Irene (Mulligan) and her young son, who happen to be neighbors with Driver, and comes to the garage with a problem with her car she can’t fix. After learning that she and Driver are neighbors, Shannon offers Driver to drive them home, but they take the long way. A “friendship-near-something-more” blossoms, but Irene informs him that her husband is almost out of prison. Driver also learns that Shannon is in business with mob boss Bernie Ross (Brooks), who doesn’t like any funny business. Ross invests in a car that is to be worked on by Driver, so that Driver can race with it and win Ross some serious dough. Tensions rise when Ross’ friend Nino (Ron Perlman), a tough mafioso with a bad history with Shannon, appears. Nino also wants in on the action. Now back to Irene’s husband, Standard (Isaac), he needs to pay some protection money from his time in the joint. Having some sympathy for Irene and her son, Driver offers to help. He gives a small-time hood the same spiel he gave in the beginning of the film: no more than five minutes. But the said hood doesn’t budge. After the next heist goes horribly wrong, Driver is now determined to find the root of the deception, even if it might take him to those he cross paths with before. “Drive” is very well-shot, especially in the opening robbery-getaway scene. Though I had hope to see more scenes like that, one that makes up for it lasts a little later, but in the day. Another small complaint I have is the film’s soundtrack. The pop and electronic rock songs, to me, didn’t quite work to create tension and despair the film would've conveyed. Maybe a score by Hans Zimmer could’ve done the trick. No more complaints from me, just some more praises. Gosling’s performance I possible his best one yet. I loved his cold, thick exterior, and the little breaks in the scenes with Mulligan. His determination and wit reminded me of Mel Gibson in “The Road Warrior” (a film I’m not too fond of, but a film with a groundbreaking performance from Gibson), which also shows a protagonist not taking any stops to finding some answers. Very well-written.