Drive (2011 film)

Category: Semi-romantic action drama.

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I first saw this movie some years back while on a 10 hour flight coming back home from overseas and just couldn’t sleep, but the bad noise insulation, crappy airline headphones and lousy in-seat displays meant I wasn't able to comprehend a lot of the movie - and especially the dialogue. Being sleep-deprived probably didn't help either, but two things that did stick out were the 1980s setting and the soundtrack. I fell in love with the soundtrack to the point I have it on my phone, and me being a child of the 1980s when things were less complicated and bureaucratic, I was able to feel a certain nostalgia.

Since that fateful evening turned night turned morning crossing time zones and jurisdictions, I've wanted to watch Drive again - even just to make sure I remembered half of what I watched was correct. So imagine my surprise when I re-watched via streaming that first, the movie actually made sense, and second, that the airline version was censored! 

Anyway, on to the movie itself - Drive features Ryan Gosling as a motor mechanic/part-time stunt car driver/part-time getaway-driver-for-hire whose life takes a sudden turn for the hectic when the recently-released husband of his really pretty single mum neighbour (Irene, played by Carey Mulligan) turns up and needs not only to do one last job to pay back dues, but also needs a trustworthy getaway driver to help complete the task. And as they say, no good deed goes unpunished as The Driver is able to evade assassination and bastardry long enough to pilfer out a large amount of mob cash and leave bodies in his wake.

There really are two halves to this movie - the first half features the growing bond between The Driver and Irene and her son, to the point that you think this is almost a romance film. But then once that hit on the pawn shop goes pear-shaped, it becomes an action-drama.

The most memorable scene is the kiss in the lift between The Driver and Irene, juxtaposed by a most gruesome scene of (implied) violence - one of director Nicholas Winding Refn's calling cards.

And I gotta talk about the soundtrack again - Nightcall by Kavinsky, Under Your Spell by Desire and A Real Hero by College ft Electric Youth are all absolute bangers!

 

FINAL STAR RATING: 4/5