The whole opening sequence and first getaway is almost entirely without dialogue. Ryan Gosling (La La Land, 2016) does an amazing job at conveying emotions and messages with facial expressions, while sound effects and police radio carry the sequence forward. It's clever visual filmmaking by visionary director Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising, 2009).
The somewhat old-school electronic score by Cliff Martinez (Only God Forgives, 2013) fits the dark and depressing atmosphere of the film perfectly.
Ryan Gosling puts in a very low-key performance, arguably on par with his amazing performance in La La Land. He even keeps his expressions at bay, which makes him seem distant and cold - it fits Winding Refn's world perfectly.
Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go, 2010) marks the perfect counterpart to Gosling's few-worded protagonist; happy, expressive and sweet. Their on-screen relationship feels warm and relatable from its first budding moments.
Ron Perlman (Hellboy, 2004) gives another furiously wonderful performance.
Winding Refn's strengths lie in the character directing as well as the violence. He somehow manages to make the bloody parts look fashionably clean.
:smiley:
There are several long moments with total silence. These become opportunities for the actors to truly make said moments feel uneasy. Through most of these scenes you can clearly feel the uneasy situation of the characters.
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, 2008-2013) and *Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, 2014) make up a largely redundant supporting cast, but at least their performances are a joy to watch.
There are some sudden spurs of violent action, and even if they bizarrely form the most interesting parts of the movie, they are too few and far between to really make an impact. When looking at the story progression, from the slower first half to the more tense second, Drive reminds me of Taxi Driver (1976).
The second half is like a totally different film - Gosling's performance becomes more expressive, the music turns more dramatic and the stakes suddenly become sky-high. It's almost too much to take in at the same time.
:neutral_face:
Drive is a slow and intelligent thriller, much like most of director Denis Villeneuve's movies. But unlike his movies, Drive doesn't create or keep up any tension that would make it interesting.
The second half suddenly turns up the volume on tension and violence, and it feels like a desperate attempt to keep the viewer interested since there is so little build-up during the first hour.
The ending is just as low-key and empty as most of the rest of the movie, and still somehow manages to feel disappointing.
:frowning2:
The story is simple and takes its fair share of time to soar somewhere up in the clouds. It barely goes anywhere and never truly handles the subject matter so promisingly put forth in the introduction.
The film fails to build up tension that would make the faster parts feel exciting. Even the more tense parts feel sluggish thanks to Winding Refn's artistic vision and the low-key performances.
It feels like the script totally scraps the ideas it's spinning during the first half of the film to focus on things that have only barely been hinted at.
While visionary in several ways and definitely watchable for its acting, Drive feels like a film with nothing real to say. It's not deeply political like Taxi Driver, unsettling like Nightcrawler (2014) or exhilarating and original like Baby Driver (2017). It just is.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2019-12-17T09:36:59Z
The Five Faces of DRIVE
:heart_eyes:
The whole opening sequence and first getaway is almost entirely without dialogue. Ryan Gosling (La La Land, 2016) does an amazing job at conveying emotions and messages with facial expressions, while sound effects and police radio carry the sequence forward. It's clever visual filmmaking by visionary director Nicolas Winding Refn (Valhalla Rising, 2009).
The somewhat old-school electronic score by Cliff Martinez (Only God Forgives, 2013) fits the dark and depressing atmosphere of the film perfectly.
Ryan Gosling puts in a very low-key performance, arguably on par with his amazing performance in La La Land. He even keeps his expressions at bay, which makes him seem distant and cold - it fits Winding Refn's world perfectly.
Carey Mulligan (Never Let Me Go, 2010) marks the perfect counterpart to Gosling's few-worded protagonist; happy, expressive and sweet. Their on-screen relationship feels warm and relatable from its first budding moments.
Ron Perlman (Hellboy, 2004) gives another furiously wonderful performance.
Winding Refn's strengths lie in the character directing as well as the violence. He somehow manages to make the bloody parts look fashionably clean.
:smiley:
There are several long moments with total silence. These become opportunities for the actors to truly make said moments feel uneasy. Through most of these scenes you can clearly feel the uneasy situation of the characters.
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, 2008-2013) and *Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, 2014) make up a largely redundant supporting cast, but at least their performances are a joy to watch.
There are some sudden spurs of violent action, and even if they bizarrely form the most interesting parts of the movie, they are too few and far between to really make an impact. When looking at the story progression, from the slower first half to the more tense second, Drive reminds me of Taxi Driver (1976).
The second half is like a totally different film - Gosling's performance becomes more expressive, the music turns more dramatic and the stakes suddenly become sky-high. It's almost too much to take in at the same time.
:neutral_face:
Drive is a slow and intelligent thriller, much like most of director Denis Villeneuve's movies. But unlike his movies, Drive doesn't create or keep up any tension that would make it interesting.
The second half suddenly turns up the volume on tension and violence, and it feels like a desperate attempt to keep the viewer interested since there is so little build-up during the first hour.
The ending is just as low-key and empty as most of the rest of the movie, and still somehow manages to feel disappointing.
:frowning2:
The story is simple and takes its fair share of time to soar somewhere up in the clouds. It barely goes anywhere and never truly handles the subject matter so promisingly put forth in the introduction.
The film fails to build up tension that would make the faster parts feel exciting. Even the more tense parts feel sluggish thanks to Winding Refn's artistic vision and the low-key performances.
It feels like the script totally scraps the ideas it's spinning during the first half of the film to focus on things that have only barely been hinted at.
While visionary in several ways and definitely watchable for its acting, Drive feels like a film with nothing real to say. It's not deeply political like Taxi Driver, unsettling like Nightcrawler (2014) or exhilarating and original like Baby Driver (2017). It just is.
:face_vomiting:
//
The Final Face: :smiley: // Good