I fully
intend to get more “up to date” on my reviews by the way. Just putting it out
there. I was chatting to a colleague at work the other day and I was glad to
hear that I am in fact not the only person who makes about ten New Year’s
resolutions. I mean, you know, it’s good to have spares. I have like 5 or 6
this year. Tidying up the blog is one of them. Making my reviews more up to
date comes under that heading. I mean, I will keep these randoms. Because this
blog has always been about me going “Oh my God you guys, you’ll never guess
what I discovered!” But yeah. Let’s not
lag too far behind either. I know this isn’t the clearest possible description
of what changes I have in mind for the blog but don’t worry, it will become
clearer. In the meanwhile let us concentrate on a more important question. How
the heck did I take nigh on 3 years to watch Drive? It’s only, oh I don’t know,
one of my top 5 favourite movies.
The driver
(Ryan Gosling) is a man of few words. When you talk to him, you get the feeling
life has made him this way. And to be absolutely frank, the life he leads doesn’t
leave him much time to be touchy – feely. By day, he is a stunt driver on
Hollywood movies. By night, he is one of the best get-away drivers that can be
had for the right amount of cash. Meet his terms and he is yours, no matter
what. And more often than not, he will get you out of no matter what. In short,
as far as driving is concerned, he has a God given talent and he is using it
every single way he knows how. And he has a rather solitary if fast-paced
existence until his next-door neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her little
son come into his life. This in itself is not a bad thing; it’s not a bad thing
at all. It’s when his relationship with his neighbours enters a head-on
collision course with his dark night-time dealings that the driver reaches a
very dangerous point. He will need all his courage and talent to salvage even
some of the things he loves. If he makes it out alive that is.
Ok, several
things. First of all, be warned this film is full of dark places. I mean, you know
me. I’m all about dark places and ultra-realism and all those things that make
a film… Well not a fluffy romantic comedy. You know what I mean. No. The world
of the driver is hard and dark. You may, at the beginning, be tempted to judge
our hero as “bad” but it soon becomes very obvious that he is just keeping his
feelings under lock and key. Why? We can only imagine. Because even in the
credits Ryan Gosling is listed as “Driver” –we never even learn the hero’s
name. And then, a ray of sunlight enters his world. A true, bright, warm ray of
sunlight he cannot help but turn to. Unfortunately though, as is often the case
with these things, clouds quickly scurry on to cover the sun and the driver is
left bewildered and more vulnerable than before. Because those feelings he had
under lock and key were there for a reason and now innocent lives are at stake.
Ryan
Gosling is absolutely marvellous as the driver. One thing I loved about the
whole film is that he is completely silent for a very large part of it. It is
almost the character’s trademark. This, among other things, makes it very easy
for us to project ourselves onto him. Well think about it; since you’ll be
using your own experiences and imagination to figure out what’s going through
his head, you will create a character sympathetic to yourself. Thus, anyone who
has anything marginally similar to the Driver is going to end up adoring him.
You might have been down on your luck relationship-wise and feeling lonely. You
might be in a job you’re not particularly happy in and desperately want to get
out. You might have been unlucky enough to have been backstabbed or may, for
whatever reason, feel you need to keep your emotions hidden. You will like this
guy. You will find something of yourself in him. The genius of the film is the
fact that it makes it so easy for you to put it there J . Oh don’t get me wrong. I love the
driver too. I’m just pointing out to you I reckon this comes about.
And then of
course there is the supreme contrast of this state with his changed state when
Irene enters his life. Pay attention and you will see all the little details
like the changes in the lighting, the softer colours… But more importantly, the
Driver speaks. He smiles. And the couple work so well together, the acting is
just so brilliant your heart swells. I mean, at this point a word or two needs
to be said about Carey Mulligan. She is one of the brightest stars of our time
and yet I love the fact that she pulls of being completely, believably normal. Yes, even an old cynic like me was rooting for
a happy ending on this one. Did I get what I wanted? Well… Like a lot of things
in life – and in this film – nothing is black or white. You will have to watch
the film and figure the answer out for yourselves.
What I love
about this film is that it is so close to real life and I saw – as I am
confident a lot of you will – so many emotions I have felt and psychological
places I have found myself in. I know that some people advocate a completely
different you know, restful world where all the problems are nicely tidied up
and any rough edges on characters are nicely filed down by the end. Thing is,
that doesn’t tap into my real emotions. Life simply does not work out like
that. I find it is rare that a film grips me at the heart strings like this and
has me pausing the film now and again, simply because I just feel so tense I
just can’t take any more adrenaline. It will not come on you all at once, oh
but it definitely will grow on you… Now go watch the darn thing…
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