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Amazon.co.uk Review
Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive--a pulp fairytale about a driver struggling to protect an optionless family--has deep cinematic roots that run through the canon of existential noir from the '60s onwards, borrowing the central characterization of Walter Hill's The Driver, the professional code of Jean-Pierre Melville's The Samurai and the palette and pace of Michael Mann's Heat. Ryan Gosling has formidable presence as the un-named hero: a classic celluloid stranger whose eyes give away everything his controlled dialogue tries to conceal. He makes fair money as an in-demand getaway driver with a legit career in stunt-driving and racing ahead of him. But when a protective relationship is struck with a coping mother (Carey Mulligan) and her young son (Kaden Leos) he breaks his own rules to help her backslider husband with one last heist. Sure enough, nothing goes according to plan--and the driver must lay down a trail of retribution, attitude and scorched rubber to shake off a brutal entanglement with the mob. Gosling's depiction of heroic cool is flawless, as are supporting performances from Mad Men's Christina Hendricks as a trashy moll, Albert Brooks as a dangerous investor and Ron Perlman as the demonic gangster pulling the narrative strings. The cinematography of Newton Thomas Sigel (The Usual Suspects) also gives Los Angeles a hip starring role: the shots of Gosling racing his 1973 Chevrolet Malibu along LA's concrete riverbed--or just rolling it around the sodium-tinted backstreets--make franchise concepts like The Fast and The Furious look suspiciously like nerd territory. --Leo Batchelor
Product Description
Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play.
Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver by day (Ryan Gosling), a loner by nature, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld. He finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan). When the job goes dangerously awry, the only way he can keep Irene and her son alive is to do what he does best-Drive!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Great film? Shallow, derivative genre piece? At times, watching 'Drive', it's really hard to say. I've watched it twice now, once on a tiny seat-back screen on BA, again at home on widescreen. Both times I found it utterly engrossing, despite manifold flaws - or questionable decisions at least - in tone, casting and plot. Second time around, I wondered if Ryan Gosling was the weak link - the absence of dialogue (as action heroes go, he's very much the strong silent type) is fine, but that half-smirk starts to grate after a while, making him seem more of a puppet than I'm sure was intended. Carey Mulligan is becoming a great screen presence, and plays the part well, but is she right for the role? Why is she so sweet, so emotionally neutral, in the midst of all this? I'm not sure that I believe her. Then the episodes of ultraviolence... not entirely gratuitous, but maybe just a little too much, tipping over into gore-porn?
The scene in the elevator is truly ghastly, and brings these concerns together. Do we have to see that? And would Gosling's character really behave that way? Yet it's a critical scene in the movie too... his sweaty, guilty pallor as he turns away to look at Mulligan's terrified, horrified face brings out something in his character that's only been alluded to previously - that he's a man with a past about which we know little, but which probably ain't pretty. Those nerveless driving skills didn't come from nowhere, and, married to the bum job and the cheap apartment, the lonely, friendless existence, it all seems to suggest witness protection, or at least a powerful need to maintain a low profile. Masks figure at both ends of the film - this is a man who is Not All He Seems.
So more than a violently intelligent, hard-boiled B-movie of the old school? It certainly resonates more than that description would suggest - it's fascinating for the sheer number of influences that get wrapped up into what is at heart a pretty straightforward heist-gone-wrong movie. At random, I was thinking about Eastwood, Bogart, Tarantino of course, Walter Hill, Taxi Driver... in fact, you can go a lot further back than that and see Gosling's character in the ancient tradition of the knight in shining armour (the silver jacket and car) defending the fair lady (their relationship is certainly chaste and courtly enough). It's a cineaste's movie, for sure, but it's not sterile in the way such movies often are - more, it's a fan's movie, and reminded me of nothing so much as Reservoir Dogs [DVD]- the low budget, the visceral, bloody impact, the existential absence of any real context, the sense of visual style... If you liked Reservoir Dogs, but have reservations about everything else Tarantino has done since, this may well be the movie for you.
So 4 stars - not so much for greatness (I'm still not sure) but for being a) not boring b) always challenging c) a relentlessly involving watch.
The scene in the elevator is truly ghastly, and brings these concerns together. Do we have to see that? And would Gosling's character really behave that way? Yet it's a critical scene in the movie too... his sweaty, guilty pallor as he turns away to look at Mulligan's terrified, horrified face brings out something in his character that's only been alluded to previously - that he's a man with a past about which we know little, but which probably ain't pretty. Those nerveless driving skills didn't come from nowhere, and, married to the bum job and the cheap apartment, the lonely, friendless existence, it all seems to suggest witness protection, or at least a powerful need to maintain a low profile. Masks figure at both ends of the film - this is a man who is Not All He Seems.
So more than a violently intelligent, hard-boiled B-movie of the old school? It certainly resonates more than that description would suggest - it's fascinating for the sheer number of influences that get wrapped up into what is at heart a pretty straightforward heist-gone-wrong movie. At random, I was thinking about Eastwood, Bogart, Tarantino of course, Walter Hill, Taxi Driver... in fact, you can go a lot further back than that and see Gosling's character in the ancient tradition of the knight in shining armour (the silver jacket and car) defending the fair lady (their relationship is certainly chaste and courtly enough). It's a cineaste's movie, for sure, but it's not sterile in the way such movies often are - more, it's a fan's movie, and reminded me of nothing so much as Reservoir Dogs [DVD]- the low budget, the visceral, bloody impact, the existential absence of any real context, the sense of visual style... If you liked Reservoir Dogs, but have reservations about everything else Tarantino has done since, this may well be the movie for you.
So 4 stars - not so much for greatness (I'm still not sure) but for being a) not boring b) always challenging c) a relentlessly involving watch.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
DRIVE is a vividly colored crime fable in the tradition of David Lynch's surreal noir masterpieces. The L.A. nightscape immediately brings to mind MULLHOLAND DR. and its sinister dream-time vibe. Whiz Director Nicolas Refn employs a graphic comic aesthetic resulting in a relentlessly art-y, 100% gorgeous film full of slow-burn tension and brainy kills.
Ryan Gosling sinks deep into the plum role of Driver: The stoic loner who must rescue Carey Mulligan's damsel-in-distress from gangster Bernie Rose and profanity loving partner Nino. The infamous brutal violence hits hard in the 2nd half but is actually restrained, measured gore compared with your average horror movie; Any fan of realistically gruesome makeup effects will enjoy Albert Brooks' cutlery tutorial, Christina Hendricks' red head and the foot-stomping shocker in the golden elevator. In addition, the throbbing techno and new wave soundtrack greatly reinforces the film's anachronistic neon-lit style.
Overall, Refn's singular vision allows an old story to morph into exciting, contemporary cinema. DRIVE exhibits a Tarantino-worthy Cali underworld of ferocious heroes, amusing villains, forbidden desire and blood-soaked deliverance.
Ryan Gosling sinks deep into the plum role of Driver: The stoic loner who must rescue Carey Mulligan's damsel-in-distress from gangster Bernie Rose and profanity loving partner Nino. The infamous brutal violence hits hard in the 2nd half but is actually restrained, measured gore compared with your average horror movie; Any fan of realistically gruesome makeup effects will enjoy Albert Brooks' cutlery tutorial, Christina Hendricks' red head and the foot-stomping shocker in the golden elevator. In addition, the throbbing techno and new wave soundtrack greatly reinforces the film's anachronistic neon-lit style.
Overall, Refn's singular vision allows an old story to morph into exciting, contemporary cinema. DRIVE exhibits a Tarantino-worthy Cali underworld of ferocious heroes, amusing villains, forbidden desire and blood-soaked deliverance.
50 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This is nothing like a Fast And Furious or Transporter movie so anybody expecting that will be very dissapointed. Drive is a modern film noir about a hollywood stuntman with no name who also acts as a getaway driver for the mob. Ryan Gosling is one of the hottest actors around at the moment and it's very easy to see why here, with a performance that echoes Steve Mc.Queen especially when he's behnd the wheel. Albert Brooks, perhaps best known as the father in Finding Nemo is very menacing as a mob boss as is Ron Perlman as his henchman and there's solid support from Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Carey Mulligan. It's a very brutal film with some scenes not for the sqeemmish. A very well shot film and with some excellent driving scenes and car chases, this is also a very intelligent film with a lot of heart too. Absolutely brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A film of 2 halves
Firstly why I gave this film a 4 star rating was the super cool performance of ryan gosling.His laid back but convincing performance here,made the movie worth watching. Read more
Published 2 hours ago by Mr. A. T. Clarke
Shades of (a slow motion & polite) Jason Statham
Certainly doesn't deserve 5 stars: it's so slow and drags a bit, too arty with long lingering shots, minimal dialogue. Read more
Published 1 day ago by S. Ahmad
good but needed more driving scenes!
Good film definitely worth a watch, excellent soundtrack aswell, however needed to have more driving scenes as these were the best parts for me
Published 5 days ago by Rob T
Violence with little style and ..er..more violence!
Hired this as had heard good reviews and looked interesting...then read content warnings which read "contains strong gory violence". Hmm... Read more
Published 8 days ago by mogster99
GTA: Vice City-esque Getaway movie, with a mellow spin.
This is a brilliant movie, it is very subtle and has a gentle pace. It is very 80's and fans of the Grand Theft Auto series will find familiarities with it and Vice City,... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Manish P
Self indulgent, violent nonsense
The problems for me with this film start with the filming style. It's very violent and - while I have no objection to that per se - it serves little purpose in the film other than... Read more
Published 12 days ago by J. W. Treadaway
Completly over-rated, promises so much, delivers so little.
To add some context, on my shelf this goes next to:
The Driver - www.amazon.co.uk/The-Driver-DVD/dp/B000HEVTOA/
Vanishing Point -... Read more
The Driver - www.amazon.co.uk/The-Driver-DVD/dp/B000HEVTOA/
Vanishing Point -... Read more
Published 14 days ago by P. White
Excellent movie.
3rd favourite movie of 2011. This is the best driving movie I've ever seen though. In my top 30 films of all time. Classic, great work from all the cast and Winding Refn! 10/10.
Published 15 days ago by Jackson McCready
Wow Love this film!
If you like it dark and semi slow, you'll love this underground LA drama. Gosling does a truely weird job as the lead, kind of ponderous and stoned in a Marlon Brando type way. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Van Douzen
Deserved all Praise it Got
As a didicated film fan I try to keep on top of the films that are meant to be right up there in the business. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Will Knights
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