Every
year cinema provides a few hidden gems. Those movies you’ve heard
nothing about and see with little-to-no expectations and yet they become
one of your favourite films of the year. 2009 saw District 9 become a favourite of mine from absolutely nowhere, 2010’s gem was The Social Network and now 2011 has given me Drive.
The
story centres around a character who has a very Daniel Craig from Layer
Cake vibe about him; so much so that he doesn’t even have a name. Played
by Ryan Gosling, this silent hero goes through the movie trying to do
what’s right for those innocent around him, how he succeeds and how he
fails.
I
had no idea what to expect when walking into this one. Sure it’s called
Drive, but cars don’t feature too heavily in this movie at all. The
main focus is on the main character as he tries to help a woman who
lives next door to him (played by the very good Carey Mulligan).
One
thing I also didn’t expect is the sheer violence of the movie. It’s
ultra-violent to the point where at it actually shocks you with how
gruesome it is! Ten minutes don’t go by without someone being stabbed in
the face, or shot, or stomped on, even the dentist from Seinfeld gets involved.
But the
main draw for this film is the main character. Ryan Gosling must have
been shocked when his entire dialogue for the movie was handed to him on
a post-it note.
And yet
it makes him all the more appealing. His actions speak much more than
his words ever could, and his consistently emotionless expression says
thousands more than his little post-it could ever achieve. He even
manages to draw you in while wearing a white jacket with a yellow
scorpion on the back!
The only
down-point, if you can even call it that, is that the film plays on it
to the point of parody. For example the ridiculously long awkward pauses
between Gosling and his vulnerable neighbour that occur so much that if
you removed them from the film it’d only last around 45 minutes.
But that
really is the only downside to this otherwise brilliant movie. The
story isn’t the most spectacular you’ll ever see, but the drama and the
action make up for it in droves. I should mention the soundtrack too
which is fantastic and really well-suited.
A lot of people have said Drive is based on an old movie from the 1950s called Shane. I’ve never seen Shane so I can’t really comment on whether it’s better or worse. To be honest I wouldn’t want to, I much prefer seeing Drive as
an entity all to itself. I’m glad that every year there is a film that
gets no hype whatsoever and yet becomes one of my favourites.
Final Verdict: 4 Stars. A hidden gem.
No comments:
Post a Comment