Imagine your reaction to watching a movie called “Attack of
the Killer Bats” only to find that there’s no attacking, no killing, and hardly
a bat to be found throughout the film’s proceedings. That’s precisely what I experienced while
watching director Nicolas Winding Ref’s Drive.
The title in itself is basic if not direct and yet the film is not quite
what it is billed as. Other than two major
sequences, there is remarkably little actual action-packed driving to be found. This begs the question as to what exactly the
movie is about.
It’s a character driven movie (pun intended) that centers on
an unnamed stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) who is engaged in an awkward unspoken
love triangle with Carey Mulligan’s Irene and her convict husband played by
Oscar Isaac. Also swimming in these
murky waters are Irene’s son, Bryan Cranston’s Shannon, and some seedy low rent
mafia types played by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman. It all comes together to form a narrative
that is one part awkward courting, one part deranged camaraderie, and one part
gratuitous violence.
Perhaps the oddest part of the film is that it plays like a
rip in the space-time continuum – as if a slice has been cut out of the 1980’s
and interjected into the present. From
the hot pink/purple font used for the movie title, to the highly synthesized
soundtrack, to the lighting and cinematography, I almost expected Don Johnson
and Phillip Michael Thomas to storm onto the screen in pastel colors while Phil Collins croons in the background.
As for the cast, no one stands out as particularly good or
bad, but this may be the product of the script, as all the characters seem flat
and one-dimensional. Ryan Gosling’s
performance is perplexing to me as I was hard pressed to identify why it
generated such positive buzz. Cranston,
Perlman, and Brooks – all accomplished veteran actors – seem at times to be
going through the motions. Of the entire
cast, only Carey Mulligan does a fair job of acquitting herself although truth
be told, very little is asked of her.
To be fair, the movie is a decent rental, but definitely not
a must-see priority. If you have low
expectations, you’ll watch for two hours and be left scratching your head while
at the same time feel moderately entertained.
If however you’re expecting a fast-paced hard action film deserving of
all the praise that was heaped on this project, you’re going to wish you had
those two hours of your life back. If
you really want to see a good Ryan Gosling movie, go back and watch Remember the Titans.
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