Drive, starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan

Sometimes style and substance fit together like hand and glove. That's certainly the case with Drive, a flashy neo-noir from fast rising Danish director, Nicolas Winding Refn(Bronson, Valhalla Rising), an auteur who has rallied a devoted fanbase with his aggressive, unique spins on established genre. As Refn boldly steps into the cookie cutter world of Hollywood, he's bringing along his cinematic compadre, Ryan Gosling, an actor who appears to be salivating at the chance to break free from the image others have crafted for him. If he wanted to make an impression, Gosling couldn't have chosen a better film to do it in.

Almost immediately the steaming hot pink title credits and heavily synthesized music pull you into a world that's like the seedier lovechild of Michael Mann's Miami Vice and 1968's Bullitt. We jump behind the wheel with Driver(Gosling), a simple and enigmatic man who is at home when pushing a car to it's limits. A stunt driver for Hollywood productions by day, Driver takes his unique gift to the darkest of LA corners as a wheelman for the criminal element. You've got the money, he's got five minutes to save your butt after a job. Anything outside that five minute window and he's gone. Working at a garage with his friend and manager, Shannon(Bryan Cranston), Driver is a man of few words. He's a man who communicates solely through action.

That sparseness  is a common thread running through all of Refn's movies, preferring to get across character motivations through deed rather than long drawn out dialogues. It's a formula that's totally outside the typical Hollywood style, where everything needs to be explained for the audience. Refn trusts in his actors, and they in turn trust themselves to cut loose. That freedom provides the raw energy that powers Drive from start to finish.

Shannon's a good guy, but he's always looking for his next get rich scheme, and he sees Driver as his ticket to riches. This gets the two in hotter water than usual when Shannon strikes a loaded deal with shady film producer Bernie Rose(Albert Brooks) and his lethal cohort(Ron Perlman). It's the type of arrangement that stinks from the start. You know somebody's gonna bleed if things don't go right. And well, things don't go right, and people start getting hurt.

Of course there's a girl, Irene(Carey Mulligan), a literal girl next door living in suffering silence with her son. Driver let's his guard down around the two, and soon he's like a part of the family. The chemistry between he and Irene is clear, both painfully quiet people but for very different reasons. When Standard gets out of jail and is pushed back into crime, Driver must help him in order to save Irene from a terrible fate.

Drive tore through the festival circuit with a buzz unlike any film I've seen in years. That usually means an art house film that'll die a swift death at the hands of the general public. But I don't see that happening here. This is the rare film for ANYBODY who loves film. For the critical crowd, Refn adds a decidedly European twist to your usual action flick, providing levels of reflection and character development rarely seen. He pays homage to some of the great roadster and gritty crime flicks of the past, but uses them to form a wholly original film.  For the popcorn crowd, Drive delights with intense and brutal action wrapped around an unconventional love story.

One thing I found most surprising was the way the violence sneaks up on you. This is pretty gory stuff, with Driver going all American Psycho on the unfortunate thugs who stand in his way. In a lot of ways he's like a confused samurai superhero, calmly and coldly dispatching his foes while protecting the innocent.  Drive will lull you a little bit with it's relaxed pace in the beginning, but once things heat up there's no turning it back down. The film's sheer ferocity makes for an interesting juxtaposition with the haunting score, the lyrics in which seem to tell the story Refn left out of the written page. It's an awesome combination, creating a fresh, visceral experience.

The cast is superb, and I've already mentioned how Gosling has taken his game to a whole new level. Drive opens up a totally different avenue for his career. Between the comedic chops he showed in Crazy Stupid Love, and sheer power he brings to bear here, Gosling is poised to be Hollywood's "It" actor for a long time. A funnyman by trade, we rarely see Albert Brooks go down such a dark path in any of his movies. Part of the reason Bernie Rose is so convincing is that you can see hints of Brooks' affable personality peaking through. He's a nice guy with an awful violent streak if crossed. I woulnt't be at all surprised to see Brooks get an Oscar nomination.

Whether Drive truly connects at the box office or not, we're guaranteed to see a lot more from the Gosling/Refn pairing. They've got at least three films in the works together, with one of them being a remake of sci-fi classic, Logan's Run. Considering the glut of mediocre action films we've seen lately(hello Killer Elite!), Drive is desperately needed breath of fresh air. A hard core, old school butt kicker of a film with brains to spare.

Trav's Tip: Ryan Gosling got so into his Driver character that he took apart and re-built the Chevy Malibu that is his characters' vehicle of choice.