Drive is one of those films you either love or hate, there is no in between. Those that hate it will point to the lack of sustained action, lack of an abundance of dialogue and an unsatisfying ending as the reasons for their dislike. They feel as though the film is unworthy of the hype that has been put upon it by critics. However these detractors are missing the things that make Drive worth that hype and definitely worth at least one viewing.
First, there is action, and plenty of it! Director Nicolas Winding Refn did not overwhelm the audience with fist-fights and multi-car pile ups, but used what action was there to punctuate the story of Driver (yes, that is the name of Ryan Gosling's character). Next there was the dialogue and acting. Winding Refn was able to let his actors grow into their roles, giving them a depth that most action thriller characters sorely lack. And while it is true that critical parts of the movie could be considered dialogue-lite, the performances by Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks and the rest of the cast were spot on and effective, giving the audience more than enough to emotionally invest in what was taking place on screen. Also, there is something to be said about how less might be more in regards to dialogue. Too often, it seems, filmmakers choose to inundate the audience with an overabundance of dialogue when two or three lines are more efficient. An example of this in Drive was near the end of the film when Driver called Irene to confess his feelings for her. Rather than laying on the full blown uber-sweet romantic drivel so readily employed by most filmmakers, Winding Rifn and screenwriter Hossein Amini kept it simple and honest (and they kept that bit of dialogue to two or three lines). The affect was more heart-wrenching than anything a long two minutes of fluff could produce. Finally, there were the foreign film sensibilities Winding Rifn imbued in the film. Scenes were allowed to develop rather than being jammed down the audiences throat with no rhyme nor reason to them and each shot was so full of meaning and metaphor that one just wanted to keep watching. Director of Photography Newton Thomas Sigel was able to give the movie a distinct look (glossy, 1980's slick are the best phrases to describe it) that added to its overall appeal.
Drive was a unique take on the action thriller, a film which was not afraid to bypass some of the tired conventions of the genre in order to give the audience a smart, artsy, thrilling rush of a ride.
Grade: A
