Drive
“You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?” - The Driver
At that moment, I was absolutely hooked on this movie. That line is the beginning of one of the greatest cold openings I have ever seen. The mix of synthwave music and the instant dive into an intense car chase shoots your heartrate up instantly. Obviously, most people's minds go to The Dark Knight for the most iconic opening, but I think Drive takes the cake. Another strong reason for why this movie is elite is two simple words, Ryan Gosling. I do not know if he could have played this role any better. Somehow Ryan takes a nameless character that has minimal dialogue and creates a perfect mysterious getaway driver that you can’t help but be intoxicated by. A lot of complaints can come from the fact he really has minimal dialog, but that is exactly what the movie is calling for. Bryan Cranston even brings up his background and just says that he found the kid and he is different from anyone he has ever met, and that is exactly what Gosling gives the movie.
Beyond Gosling, the rest of the movie is also star studded. Now, when you look up reviews, there are a lot of complaints because of this stacked cast. A lot of watchers wanted a Fast and the Furious type film instead of a true cinematic piece. It almost has an anime feel with how The Driver dresses along with the stylistic shots that are produced. I also think instead of leaning into constant action, it makes the limited scenes (for example the motel room) so much more iconic and give them so much more meaning. It creates a story that you believe could be happening right now. This type of film is definitely preferred by me over The Fast and the Furious, but I can empathize with those who were disappointed. My only picky issue with the film is the ‘bad guy.’ I think the antagonist gets somewhat gunked up throughout the movie, but it also helps keep you guessing instead of a traditional one-on-one between hero and antagonist. Drive is more than a car chase film and is a film that's stayed with me long after the credits rolled. A neon soaked fever dream fueled by an incredible performance from must-watch Ryan Gosling and a maybe perfect soundtrack.
-J
