Few and far between are classic Hollywood films that sport a great cast, story, and memorable characters. Every so often a film or two will show up that really nails this classic genre. The trailers for Drive seemed to be aching to this time in filmmaking all the way down to its old school looking poster. The hype was large and the film got great buzz, but does it live up to the hype or will it run out of gas before crossing the finish line?
Drive follows a wheelman for hire, driving for movies by day and heists by night. As he slowly starts to come out of his loner mentality as he falls in love with his vulnerable neighbor, he gets dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex. When a job goes bad, he is forced to shift gears and fight to protect those he loves. Drive is not only a great film it is destined to be a classic. It felt like a film someone like Steve McQueen would have been in back in his day. Gosling steps into this world with ease delivering a perfect performance, easily the best of his career. The story is simple, but has that classic straight forward feel to it making it race across the screen with ease. The rest of the cast do a great job as well, but the real surprising treat was Albert Brooks. It’s no surprise he can act, but the menacing gangster he plays here is a revelation to his talent. There isn’t a lot of action here, as that’s not what this movie is, but what is there is well executed and fairly more graphic than you would think.
This is a great movie on every level, but the title is a bit misleading if you don’t know what you are getting into. Mainstream audiences will go in thinking they are going to get a fast and furious type story, but it’s so much more. This is a character film that oozes cool and violence with ease and brilliance. This is a must see film and easily one of the best films of 2011.
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