movie review: DRIVE

(quick note: over the summer, i kept trying to get long comparative reviews written, and apparently that took too much time to get... what was it, one that i actually did? but now that school is in session and days are more methodical, i figured i'd start writing at least a short review for each movie i see... well, at least each movie i see in theaters.)

Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, is not necessarily a "great" film, but it is a very good movie. It gives off a vibe reminiscent of Heat or Collateral, a sorta '70s crime drama feel. This is a movie about a getaway driver by night, stunt driver by day, so in this day and age, it's actually quite remarkable that it isn't a fast-paced, action-packed thing but rather a relatively slow, deliberately-paced, almost meditative piece. Gosling's character barely speaks in many scenes, and he puts on a calm, patient demeanor, even when in the middle of a chase or a shooting scene.

The supporting cast is good, notably Bryan Cranston as Gosling's boss, Carey Mulligan as the SPOILER unrequited love interest, and Albert Brooks as the surprisingly menacing antagonist (of a sort). All of these actors do well with silence, sometimes better than with dialogue; Mulligan can get more across with a look and some deep breaths than many actresses can with whole soliloquies and Brooks' calm menace is possibly scarier than a real villain would be... SPOILER COMING... when he shakes hands and slits a guy's wrist at the same time, he's both scary and comforting at the same time, and maybe I haven't seen Brooks in enough films, but I didn't expect that from him. I expected good things from Gosling--I've liked every movie I've seen him in (and, though I haven't seen The Notebook, I'm sure that if I got in the mood to watch it, I'd probably also be in the mood to like it)--and from Mulligan--I recently saw an early screening of Restless, and I like Mia Wazikowska, but the more I see her, the less impressed I am by her; quite the opposite is true of Mulligan.

Drive isn't particularly complicated, but it also isn't necessarily predictable. All in all, a good time at the theater.