A Review of "Drive" and Why You Should See This Movie

Ryan Gosling is an interesting actor. He is not particularly flashy. He seems to take his time, choosing roles that he finds interesting. I am quite sure, like most people, he wants to create movies that lots of people will see so that he can make a lot of money. However, that does not seem to be his overriding desire. Instead, he makes thoughtful movies and he makes good movies.

Many people first really noticed him in the romantic tear-jerker "The Notebook." He played the romantic lead and he was very good in it. I am not one who normally likes romantic tear-jerkers, but I have to admit I thought it was a decent movie. It brings my girlfriend to tears every time she watches it, so it must do something right.

I first saw him in the strange little movie called "Lars and the Real Girl." It was a very strange film, but there was something endearing about it. Again, he wasn't flashy and he wasn't over the top. It was a small movie about real people in a very strange situation. It worked.

Then, this summer, he appeared in the comedy-drama "Crazy, Stupid, Love." This time his character was a little more flashy. He also took his shirt off which, again, impressed my girlfriend. He also showed a vulnerability and the ability to play a complex character. He doesn't talk loudly or too flashy, but you notice him.

Now the films are coming fast and furious. Unfortunately for the general film-going public, "fast and furious" is probably what most people thought they would see with his new film "Drive." These are the same people who are now complaining about the movie and giving it low scores on those public movie-rating systems they have now.

That's a shame, because "Drive" is an excellent movie. It is now, however, what the marketing people who put out the film seem to want you to believe it is, judging by the commercials. If you were to see the trailers, you would think this was an all-driving, action-packed action movie with lots of car chases. You might think it was some addition to the "Fast and Furious" franchise. You would be wrong.

Gosling plays the unnamed protagonist referred to only as The Driver. He is a movie stuntman by day and he likes to hire himself out as a getaway driver to criminals at night. Give him a place to pick you up, a destination and a place to end up and then you have five minutes to do your heist. During that five minutes, he is on your side. Anything before or after that, and you are on your own.

He is not a great driver because he is fast, although he can be when he needs to. He as an encyclopedic knowledge of the L.A. streets. We see, in the opening scenes, how he negotiates around the police and the helicopters and uses the surrounding terrain to his advantage to get away. He is smart.

In many ways his character is like the samurai in Kirosawa's "Yojimbo." Or, to use a reference you may know even more, like Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" from his Spaghetti Western days. He is a kind of superman. When he is driving, he can do anything. He is the best at what he does.

The Driver says very little. Again, it is in keeping with the samurai tradition. Throughout the film Gosling utters less that 20 full sentences. He is a ronin samurai, however, hired out to whomever needs him. He lives in a sparse apartment with barely enough room for him to move. That's fine, he loves cars. Then he meets the girl down the hall and, like all samurai, discovers his one weakness is love.

From this point, "Drive" becomes a sweet, almost tender love story. He does not take her to bed. Their affection is a tender hand-holding scene while he is, yes, driving.

Then violence erupts. Her husband gets out of prison, but he owes some bad people a lot of money. The Driver takes things into his own hands. And he does take them into his own hands. He uses a gun only once, and that is after wrenching it from the grip of one of the gangsters. The rest of the time he uses his fists, a hammer and his car. Mostly, he relies on his wits.

The movie has a strange retro-feel to it. The music is full of synthesizers and there are lots of slow motions scenes. The movie itself seems to move in a kind of daze. This story does not rush to its conclusion, it takes us by the hand and leads us there, even if the sites we see along the way are terrifying.

The violence in the movie is intense. It is gory, to say the least. This is not a movie for kids or teenagers. This movie will likely move too slowly for them anyway.

The movie has more going for it than its action-movie trailers would make you believe. At the center of it, in nearly every scene, is Gosling. He barely speaks, but he conveys everything with a hint of a smile, a look of menace in his eyes, or a clenched fist.

"Drive" may be destined to fail at the box office. That's a shame. People looking for non-stop action should look elsewhere. For those who like character, plot and something more thoughtful and intense, then "Drive" is their cup of tea.

If you miss it in the theater, catch it on cable or DVD. I suspect this movie could achieve cult status. I hope so, anyway.