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I’m reminded of a time in movies where the hero just knew what had to be done, plain and simple. None of this ‘Let me have my cake, blow away the bad guys, and eat it too’ philosophy.  Maybe it’s the cynical side of me, but movies of the past couple of decades have had that mentality, and almost all of them have the same thing in common: they’re not very good.  Face it, they’re fluff pieces, catered to those who thrive on happy, sappy endings. Kind of like the junk food of cinema. They’re good for the time being, but in the end it’s just forgettable.

Let me make this clear…I don’t have a problem with movies like that. I just don’t expect them to fill my inner cinema soul up right. And if you have a soul like that, you need something that’ll last. In this case, that answer is Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive”. It hits you hard, fast, and it fills you up with an ever-lasting bravado of brilliance.

Let’s keep the story very simple: Driver (Ryan Gosling) moonlights as a heist getaway driver.  His main jobs are driving stunt cars for movies, and working as a mechanic at his mentor’s shop (Bryan Cranston).  The gods of fate intervene his quiet, somewhat cold life with the presence of a beautiful neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her son. He falls for both of them, and things are great until the just-released-from-prison husband (Oscar Isaac) returns, and brings with him a whole mess of trouble, including a bloody altercation that involves a mob boss (Albert Brooks) and his right-hand goon (Ron Perlman). That’s all that will be said about it.

Allow me to get into the film’s excellent supporting cast first. Every single one of them brings their hard-earned talent to the table. Carey Mulligan brings warmth, with a small but powerful touch of desperation to her character. I’ll always love how Bryan Cranston, still smoking hot off his ‘Breaking Bad’ run, still finds time to be wonderful in another form of a father-figure type to Gosling. Ron Perlman is…well, to be blunt, it’s Ron Perlman being awesome as usual. Movie goers need to keep an eye out for Oscar Isaac, a rising star who’s attributes stick with you. Of course, the headliner of them all has to belong to Albert Brooks. As an actor/author who’s surrounded himself with comedy most of his life, he’s the last man a lot of us (present company included) would expect to frighten us with such a fearsome, grade-A performance. He’s not just the villain; he’s the villain that understands. He’s the villain that relates. Trust me, it just makes him that much more menacing.

Now here’s the thing: half the time, I couldn’t believe what I was watching. At the same time, I couldn’t believe that this was actually on a big screen, and not at my home as some obscure rental or hard-to-find purchase.  This is the kind of filmmaking and storytelling that, let’s face it, can get you laughed at by a room filled with rich fat suits that pander to find the next ‘Transformers’.  This way of filmmaking, hell this way of life let’s call it, isn’t seen very often for a reason.  A little fun fact for you: this was originally supposed to be a summer blockbuster with Hugh Jackman as the lead and Neil Marshall (“The Descent”, “Centurion”) directing.  Both of those men left, and Ryan Gosling picked it up.  He met with Nicolas Winding Refn, and while he was giving the already-established Euro director (“Valhalla Rising”, “Bronson”) a drive around Los Angeles, REO Speedwagon starts to play on the radio.  I guess you could say the feel of the movie was born right in that car. Yes the movie didn’t make much money at the box office, but it doubled its relatively small budget at least. The thing is, this movie wasn’t made out of the passion to earn another greasy dollar.  It was made to eliminate all cinematic things that are, in fact, greasy and forgettable.

Refn has a top-notch crew surrounding him, his star players being cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and music composer Cliff Martinez.  Just the mere sight of their names during the opening credits made me glee for joy; these guys have been away from the game for too long.  They both came back with some of their best work.  Honestly, no one can capture the kind of look & tone, where we try to find hope in hopelessness, like Sigel and Martinez. The gathering to those two alone are probably what landed him the Best Director award from this past year’s Cannes festival.  I laugh as I typed that and thought, ‘Not that he didn’t earn it himself’.

Which brings me to the two biggest powers: Refn and Gosling.  It started with those two in that car ride, and they brought it with them like a stylized version of show & tell.  The end result engulfs us in an ecstasy of elegance and intensity.  Refn took the noir genre, mixed in a couple of other familiar ones, and added his own illustrated touch of beauty and brutality.  Speaking of which, he fuses those aforementioned two styles so seamlessly, it’s almost downright scary.  The perfect scene to capture both is the elevator scene. I won’t give much away; just know that it goes from moment to moment. From an act of passion that is exquisite, to an act of violence that is ferocious. All of this, within a single minute.

Of course the scene couldn’t work without the other man handling both of those emotions, with that man being Mr. Gosling. He’s been on the right track lately with his acting and choice roles, and here it’s no exception. The instate flip from the showcasing acts of tenderness to literally beating the life out of a man…it’s insanely perfect.  His eyes, his facial movements.  His every movement tells its own little stories of a past that no longer matters to him once he meats Mulligan. He’s the kind of hero that, like the film itself, you don’t see anymore.

And like going in a full circle, I’m going back to first paragraph, where I talked about the mentality of the modern-day film hero.  He is not that hero.  Gosling channels the golden old. Thanks to his masterful performance, he shows cinephiles the kind of hero that’s been lost.  He doesn’t take his cake and to eat it to.  Fuck cake, for all he cares.  In a barren life where he finds a ray of bright light (in this case, two), he will do anything to protect them. Anything. At any cost. God damn I loved him in this movie so much.

“Drive” is rich, meaning that it will fill up that gap of yearning cinematic quality.  This movie will speak to your inner film soul…if you have one.

(P.S.-I wrote this review while listening to the amazing soundtrack. Buy/download this music, talk about inspiration!)

For more Jaime Burchardt goodness, check out his TUMBLR page where you will find this Drive review and many other goodies!

Jaime Burchardt Tumblr Page – http://thatjaime.tumblr.com/

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