The Case for Pink Cadillacs

When I walked into the R18-rated Drive, I was prepared for a bit of violence, some pretty hardcore scenes, lots of swearing.  However, I was not prepared to be instantly confronted with credits written in pink 16 Candles-style writing, nor a pretty overpowering soundtrack that itself would not be out of place in a 1980s film.  

Once the titles were over though, the film settled into something less disturbing - or at least, more in keeping with what I was expecting.  There is not a lot of dialogue in this film (though there do seem to be a fairly high proportion of Brits amongst the main cast), so the cast have to visually portray a lot of what their characters are meant to be.  Towering above everyone in monolithic monosyllabic menace is Ryan Gosling, stripping his face of most emotion and replacing it with beige wallpaper: inoffensive, yet with potential (the film's name and the rating give away where that potential will take him). 

The rest of the main cast are amazing as well.  Acting all elfin and sweet, Carey Mulligan is the love interest (I think the sultry curves of Christina Hendricks have to take the "hottest chick" stakes in this film, despite her fleeting yet highly memorable appearance) and is able to convey both a sense of fragility and another of strength despite not having a lot to say or do.  Bryan Cranston still seems to be Malcolm's Dad, though in this type of film, you know that kind of bumbling will not end well.  And Albert Brooks is a lot less nurturing than his Nemo's Dad days as a calculating and un-squeamish ex-movie director, though he gets quite a bit of dialogue to make his position on what happens quite clear.

The film is almost Tarantino in its violence and style, though it is obviously not his by the dearth of dialogue and the fairly monotonous soundtrack.  Nicolas Winding Refn seems to want to direct a moving painting of a movie, where the visual is everything, and he pretty much succeeds.  There is no complicated storyline or 23 car speed chases to get in the way of a straightforward story told well, if pretty much silently. 

About 30 minutes into the film, I was wondering why it had earned its R18 rating - and then that became abundantly clear.  There is some massive violence in there, in complete contrast to the raging calm with which the film kicks off.  Quite what this means, I will leave for those who go see the film to discover.

 Reactions to the film even in the little group that I was with were diverse: some hated the blasting, depressing soundtrack and were searching for a special appearance by Molly Ringwald; others were a bit stunned, needing a period of time to properly assess what they had just witnessed; and the third group (of which I was one) loved almost every aspect of it.  Not sure if I would really need (or want?) to see it again, but it was damned good nonetheless.

Verdict: Drive won't be for everyone - the age restriction will guarantee that.  It is a stylish film both denouncing and revelling in violence and revenge, the main characters not wanting to get mixed up with it, but when they do, they are in for a penny and in for a pound (of flesh).  Drive is also a fairly slow film, and wordlessness seems to equal attraction, though considering the physical state of the two leads, perhaps that is not so hard to believe.  And it is... pretty awesome.  4th gear out of 5.