Drive - Ryan Gosling & Carey Mulligan [** SPOILERS FROM POST 219 ONWARD **]

expectationlost

this one looks like it could be decent

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

teaser trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi444243225/

pics

http://filmfodder.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/more-images-from-drive/

stars ryan gosling directed by the guy who did bronson

Corkfeen

This one seems to have almost slipped underneath my radar entirely. It's getting rave reviews on RT and the trailer makes it look rather awesome. It's directed by Nicolas Winding Refn who made "Bronson". Since I only heard about it today, it's nice to know that there's only a 2 week wait rather than another 12 months. We get to see Bryan Cranston on the big screen too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY1TLgqfjvw

Mickeroo

I hope it's better than Vahalla Rising! Still not got around to watching Pusher or Bronson yet. THis looks like a surprisingly conventional film considering the director.

Phony Scott

Saw it at the dublin movie fest and thought it was one of the best movies so far this year. I loved 'Bronson' and it's way better than the horribly pretentious 'Vahalla Rising'.

The first five to ten minutes of this film alone blew me away. It's exactly what I'd expect a film version of GTA to be like, but I'll say no more.

Can't wait to see it again, but some people will hate it. There were a few walk outs at the movie fest screening.

Mickeroo

Phony Scott wrote: »

Saw it at the dublin movie fest and thought it was one of the best movies so far this year. I loved 'Bronson' and it's way better than the horribly pretentious 'Vahalla Rising'.

The first five to ten minutes of this film alone blew me away. It's exactly what I'd expect a film version of GTA to be like, but I'll say no more.

Can't wait to see it again, but some people will hate it. There were a few walk outs at the movie fest screening.

Walk outs? Right I get the impression the trailer is probably a bit misleading? Should have known :P

Miguel_Sanchez

I'm really looking forward to this. Probably going to go out and buy Driver: San Francisco straight after it too!

Arcee

I saw it at Movie Fest too and thought it was incredible. Had heard nothing about it before I went which was a good thing as I think the trailer gives away al lot of the film. I've been telling everyone to avoid reading or watching anything about it before they see it.

It's definitely in the running for my favourite film of the year so far. Tied with Senna at the moment

paddyismaddy

walter from breaking bad is in this should be good

Phony Scott

Mickeroo wrote: »

Walk outs? Right I get the impression the trailer is probably a bit misleading? Should have known :P

That trailer hints at two of the most gruesome moments of the film, think of the moment in 'Wild at Heart' when Willem Dafoe dies and you're close, but the overall tone of the film is off-kilter, for example, the credits which open the film have a very 80's John Hughes/electric pink thing going on! The 80's synth heavy score won't be everyones cuppa either. Personally I loved it.

Mickeroo

Phony Scott wrote: »

That trailer hints at two of the most gruesome moments of the film, think of the moment in 'Wild at Heart' when Willem Dafoe dies and you're close, but the overall tone of the film is off-kilter, for example, the credits which open the film have a very 80's John Hughes/electric pink thing going on! The 80's synth heavy score won't be everyones cuppa either. Personally I loved it.

Right, I'm intrigued

Deisler

This looks class. Will check it out on Sat..

Corkfeen

Corkfeen wrote: »

We get to see Bryan Cranston on the big screen too.

He is also in Contagion, which is out here soon. Its only a bit part but its nice that the film industry is recognising his work on Breaking Bad. I'd say we wont be long in seeing him in a leading role.

Otis Driftwood

Ive heard from a guy on another forum I use and whose judgement I trust implicitly that its a fantastic movie so very much looking forward to it.

I wasnt hugely gone on Bronson but Bleeder (written by Refn) and The Pusher Trilogy (written and directed by him) are some of the finest European movies Ive ever seen.

JP Liz V1

It really has an 80s feel to it with the music and opening credits and also Gosling's character's clothes. Ryan is excellent in it but I felt he had little chemistry with Carey and there was long silent pauses between them that were awkward because of the lack of chemistry imo. Was Brooks and Perlman's characters business/crime partners or life partners?

Overall quite enjoyable but it is defo a dude flick

johnny_ultimate

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

a dick flick

I think we need to contact the admins and add this combination of words to the swear filter. *shudder*

johnny_ultimate

Let me preface the following criticisms with the assertion that, in general, I rather enjoyed Drive. It's stylish, beautifully retro (the soundtrack is electrifying, and used sparingly) and excellently directed (the fantastic prologue, the great tracking shots / long takes, and a director who knows how to show rather than tell with long sequences of silence).

However, I also think it's extremely hollow. And that's sort of the point. This is a distinctively style over substance film. But the plot, however little there is, and however predictable what there is is, just goes through the motions. So while the sense were hypnotised, it for me sort of went beyond merely being shallow to the point when some bits were just dumb. Stopping and thinking here is a really bad idea.

That said, for many this will be what sets the film apart. And as an experience it's extremely distinctive. I just wouldn't go as far as some of the critical hyperbole out there. There's a great cast, even if some of Gosling's considered pauses dragged on a few seconds too long, and Refn has a unique and engaging sense of pace. Yet the formulaic, overstretched story is the one thing that, IMO, stops it from being truly great.

tunguska

Phony Scott wrote: »

some people will hate it. There were a few walk outs at the movie fest screening.

Sold. If theres walkouts then I know Im gonna love it.

rossc007

I'd imagine this film will have seriously diverse opinions, I loved it, its slow and brooding but extremely stylish and well shot. The missus fell asleep.... women

e_e

I adore this movie. Saw it at 10 in the morning yesterday and almost had the urge to immediately go watch it again. Most of the audience appeared to like it too.

The complete opposite to the disappointment that was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

constitutionus

probably go and see this one as theres not much else out that interests me.

that said all the stuff in the media about it makes me think its just an arty version of "the transporter"

Mr E

Enjoyed it a million times more than TTSS.
I'll be buying the soundtrack too.

e_e

constitutionus wrote: »

its just an arty version of "the transporter"

Not sure what this means. Like any good film it strikes the right balance between art and entertainment.

Beyond the amazing opening sequence there was actually more action than I was expecting.

johnny_ultimate

I honestly thought the narrative had about as much depth as your average Statham film, although is in contrast somewhat aware of that fact. But really the only bits of the film i didn't enjoy were the bits that tried to progress the plot. Few surprises. I've heard a few reviewers call it an existential thriller. While the driver is a beautiful enigma, I do think such a statement lends the story more credit than its due. Not to say there aren't some inspired moments. Brooks and cranstons chat in the garage is brilliant, and the opening sequence is contender for scene of the year.

Noting significantly distracts from all the pretty cinematography and bitchin soundtrack though. Plus one of the most unique atmospheres, tone and pace of recent years. I preferred TTSS but TBH I don't think they're worthy of comparison.

e_e

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I preferred TTSS but TBH I don't think they're worthy of comparison.

Yeah the only reason I brought TTSS up was because these were both films I was anticipating for quite a while, that have near universal acclaim by critics.

Mr E

Same here. I was looking forward to both, both were critically acclaimed, and I hated one and loved the other.

Duggy747

Very atmospheric film that just oozes of 80's (with a hint of 70's in there, too) which ain't a complaint from me :pac:

If you've seen Bronson then you'll definitely see some similarities in terms of style and long pauses. I really enjoyed the tracking shots and the scenes involving cars. Nothing sells a car sequence more to me than having no music, just the roar of high-powered engines and the squeal of tyres

Though I did notice something odd when Gosling was being chased by the other car. When he was reversing, his engine was making noises of shifting gears.

:pac: It's nice to see a car chase once again with the camera strapped down and not going mental with parkinsons.

Story-wise, it isn't anything special and is cliched. I thought the chemistry between Gosling and Mulligan was dull and almost non-existent. The long pauses between them made it feel unnatural and awkward. One of the few scenes I had a problem with was

the extended kiss in the elevator, all I kept thinking of was the crazy amount of time that hitman had to put a bullet in both of their heads. I thought it would have made a better impact if it was a shorter kiss or he had just attacked the hitman after he pulled Mulligan to the corner of the lift.

Overall, there are some good surprises in here and the style and soundtrack raise this film beyond most others of 2011. It's pretty damn violent, too, and some of those scenes completely catch you out of surprise.

Definitely one of the (few) better films I've seen this year.

I see a dvd screener was leaked this morning on the web, this film deserves to be seen in the cinema.

Fysh

I was surprised and a little disappointed by Driver. It started well - the opening sequence was an excellent scene and introduction to the character. Unfortunately most of the characters were hollow (if you can't give Christina Hendricks or Ron Perlman anything interesting to do with their characters, you're doing it wrong) which meant that the Driver's reclusiveness and mystery was diluted because, well, you don't really get to know any of them very much. The so-called chemistry between Mulligan and Gosling was atrocious, it played like a parody of similar films.

Visually there are some great sequences, and the soundtrack is good where it's not overpoweringly loud. I think my favourite part of the whole film was the job with Standard & Blanche and the subsequent chase.

The violence was surprisingly brutal, but it felt insincere somehow (that's the wrong word but I can't think of how else to put it). There's a certain atmosphere that films like Oldboy or No Country For Old Men have and Drive was lacking.

Skerries

I think it was trying too hard to be a moody film and just went the wrong side of the road
I just didn't get the nameless protagonists raison d'etre and what he was about
as said the over use of pauses was uncomfortable and made me fidgety
The look of the film was as if he was trying to out-Mann Michael Mann with the green tinted L.A that we saw in Collateral
Carey Mulligan always has that beat down look where it looks like someone has just reversed over her kitten
Loved Bronson which it wasn't up there with but a hell of a lot better than Valhalla Rising

johnny_ultimate

Fysh wrote: »

if you can't give Christina Hendricks or Ron Perlman anything interesting to do with their characters, you're doing it wrong

I liked Hendrick's casting - the unglamorous polar opposite to her Mad Men role

although she does have a fondness for roles where she gets slapped around

. Sure, she may only have like five lines of dialogue, but I think she showed a bit of range in her limited screen time.

Perlman I agree on - his character was the weak link in all of this. I'm a Perlman fan, but his role here was a caricature, and not a very funny one. Maybe that's just because Brooks acted him off the screen.

Also, surprised so many people are mentioning the violence. Maybe it's just because I watched the far bloodier Kill List a few weeks, and have become officially desensitised :P

catiny

saw it last night, and I loved it! (I'm a girl, so not a dude flick!).

found the relationship between ryan and carey to be interesting but with little actual romance!

amazing soundtrack! would recommend it to everyone!!

Broads.ie

How in the feck did it get 8.7 on imdb???

It's not a bad film, but it's totally overrated. The guy is the most boring character I've ever actually seen in a movie... and the story could have been told in 45 minutes, but the director decided to pad it out to 90mins with artsy fartsy shyte. And how did yer wan actually fancy him when he never actually spoke a word? She actually fell in love with him. Totally unrealistic and bollox.

Meh out of 10. Some great violence in it though.

mikemac

Good but wouldn't say I was blown away

The opening scene finishing at the basketball arena was brilliant and the beat in the background

Yes, the elevator, that kiss was a perfect opportunity to do the business but nothing happened??

Love the soundtrack.
Was that Brian Eno from Traffic?
Well I'll google it now but it's just what I was thinking of while watching it

Fysh

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I liked Hendrick's casting - the unglamorous polar opposite to her Mad Men role

although she does have a fondness for roles where she gets slapped around

. Sure, she may only have like five lines of dialogue, but I think she showed a bit of range in her limited screen time.

Perlman I agree on - his character was the weak link in all of this. I'm a Perlman fan, but his role here was a caricature, and not a very funny one. Maybe that's just because Brooks acted him off the screen.

She was alright, but let's be honest - there was very little required of her, and tbh given that she has a good range (as shown in Mad Men) it seemed a waste. Same with Perlman - an excellent actor who almost always brings the goods, and yet he was basically a watered-down version of his character in Sons of Anarchy.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Also, surprised so many people are mentioning the violence. Maybe it's just because I watched the far bloodier Kill List a few weeks, and have become officially desensitised :P

I suspect it's because the violence was brutal but also somewhat matter-of-fact, whereas more often than not films with that level of violence are almost cartoonishly over-the-top.

karma_

mikemac wrote: »

Good but wouldn't say I was blown away

The opening scene finishing at the basketball arena was brilliant and the beat in the background

Yes, the elevator, that kiss was a perfect opportunity to do the business but nothing happened??

Love the soundtrack.
Was that Brian Eno from Traffic?
Well I'll google it now but it's just what I was thinking of while watching it

It's Brian Eno on the Screener, the theatrical version has a different track.

I thought Drive was incredible, loved it and I thought it was a completely refreshing departure from the traditional action/car chase film, I hadn't seen the trailer before I went in so I was completely blown away, and yes the soundtrack is fantastic too.

The Dagda

Broads.ie wrote: »

How in the feck did it get 8.7 on imdb???

It's not a bad film, but it's totally overrated. The guy is the most boring character I've ever actually seen in a movie... and the story could have been told in 45 minutes, but the director decided to pad it out to 90mins with artsy fartsy shyte. And how did yer wan actually fancy him when he never actually spoke a word? She actually fell in love with him. Totally unrealistic and bollox.

Meh out of 10. Some great violence in it though.

I agree totally with you, I can't understand where all the reviews of 4 and 5 outta 5 are coming from, and on here all the lovin' of the opening scene is baffling me too!

there was good tension and maybe I'm reading it wrong but he left his clients to be caught by the five-oh and when he met an old client in the restaurant it was implied that he had failed at that job too

The "romance" was pretty poor too,

surely the issue of the husband would've come up in conversation (although conversations WOULD have taken a long time with all the extended pauses!) BEFORE she got the call he was coming home?!

the violence was pretty good although

the part where he crushed the hit-man's head reminded me of sin city

All-in-all disappointing 2.5 out of 5

Soundtrack 5 out of 5

Fysh

The Dagda wrote: »

I agree totally with you, I can't understand where all the reviews of 4 and 5 outta 5 are coming from, and on here all the lovin' of the opening scene is baffling me too!

there was good tension and maybe I'm reading it wrong but he left his clients to be caught by the five-oh and when he met an old client in the restaurant it was implied that he had failed at that job too

No, he

gave them the best opportunity possible to get away given the circumstances

. Given the nature of criminal enterprises, that's about as much as you can expect.

karma_

Fysh wrote: »

No, he

gave them the best opportunity possible to get away given the circumstances

. Given the nature of criminal enterprises, that's about as much as you can expect.

I assumed that was the plan all along, to get to the stadium as the game finished so they could blend into the crowd.

billyhead

As others said I thought the soundtrack was good. I enjoyed this film. The dark atmosphere was good, and the violence was farily explicit

The Dagda

Fysh wrote: »

No, he

gave them the best opportunity possible to get away given the circumstances

. Given the nature of criminal enterprises, that's about as much as you can expect.

It seems strange to me that he was supposed to be the best getaway driver in the business and he

didn't do any real getaway driving, and it looked like they didn't getaway

The Dagda

karma_ wrote: »

I assumed that was the plan all along, to get to the stadium as the game finished so they could blend into the crowd.

I thought about that too but

if that was actually the case why didn't they specifically show the crims put on their LA hats and walk off into the crowd too, I suspect that what the director was trying to show was that he wasn't a good driver really, just a psychopath capable of extreme violence trying to be a getaway driver to stop his homicidal tendencies, hence the scorpian logo on his jacket and the reference to the scorpian and the frog fable later...

karma_

The Dagda wrote: »

I thought about that too but

if that was actually the case why didn't they specifically show the crims put on their LA hats and walk off into the crowd too, I suspect that what the director was trying to show was that he wasn't a good driver really, just a psychopath capable of extreme violence trying to be a getaway driver to stop his homicidal tendencies, hence the scorpian logo on his jacket and the reference to the scorpian and the frog fable later...

Well, that's really all he was commissioned for so we don't have to see the criminals after he exits, it's not their story. He was definitely prepared for that, it became apparent why he was listening to the game and he had a clippers hat ready.

tunguska

Saw it last night and I thought it was a classy film. Atmosphere gets 10/10, ditto for photography and soundtrack. Opening car chase scene shouldve been extended, couldnt get enough of that.
Its a strange film overall though, the characters are fairly hollow and its definitely a case of style over substance. The violence is over the top and unnecessary, Ryan Gosling is cool, almost too cool though. They tried to show his character de-icing in the scenes with Carey mulligan, but his expression never changed. Similiar to the character clooney played in The American but I think George got the balance right whereas Gosling went too far overboard on being stoic.
That said I liked it a lot. Soundtrack was top notch, will be buying that one for definite.

red dave

Just saw this film after getting recommended by a friend...wow, I thought it was class. The tension in some of the scenes then the graphic violence was nuts. Quality soundtrack.

Tiny Explosions

Broads.ie wrote: »

How in the feck did it get 8.7 on imdb???

It's not a bad film, but it's totally overrated. The guy is the most boring character I've ever actually seen in a movie... and the story could have been told in 45 minutes, but the director decided to pad it out to 90mins with artsy fartsy shyte. And how did yer wan actually fancy him when he never actually spoke a word? She actually fell in love with him. Totally unrealistic and bollox.

Meh out of 10. Some great violence in it though.

I agree with all of this except for "It's not a bad film".

I thought it was awful, one of the worst films of the year.

Screenplay must have been 30 pages long.....with 5 empty pages after each full page.:p
Another director could have made it a miles better film.:)
But its really a straight to DVD type film, senseless nonsense with boring music.

2/10

Just watched it and all I can say is WOW. It's rare that I ever watch a download over the cinema or Blu-Ray/DVD this was one of those occasions where I relented and while it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the film I do wish I'd held out till I got time to see it in the cinema. Defiantly going to be heading to see it in the coming week or two and it's a day one buy for sure.

I can understand a lot of the criticism of the film, the story is a little cliched and the characters 2D but that doesn't matter. There's a strange dream like quality to the film and I get the impression that it was intended as a fairytale of sorts. The similarities with the Transporter films are fair if somewhat simplistic.

There may not be much going on but its the way that it's handled that makes it so impressive. That Gosling can do so little and yet impress so much is testament to his ability as an actor. I really cannot imagine anyone else in the role, especially Hugh Jackman who was originally cast. I'm assuming that the Driver suffers from some form of autism, hence his odd interactions with people and the manner in which he handled awkward situations.

There's a lot of over reaction to the violence. I was expecting explicit, visceral violence and a

face caving in

on par with Irreversible but its very understated. It reminded me a lot of the films of Takeshi Kitano, in particular Hana-bi in that violence seemed to come out of nowhere. Perhaps it was the suddenness of it that has made such a lasting impression on people as I found it really rather tame and cannot understand how the film has an 18 cert over here. That said perhaps the final version has added CGI blood. I'm curious to see the pre MPAA version of the film, the

face stomping

is supposedly far more gory than the final version.

Fysh

The Dagda wrote: »

It seems strange to me that he was supposed to be the best getaway driver in the business and he

didn't do any real getaway driving, and it looked like they didn't getaway

Despite what GTA/Driver/Need For Speed Most Wanted may have tried very hard to claim, getting away from police in hot pursuit when they have air support involved as well is unlikely to be easy when you're in the middle of a city where driving dangerously/at high speed will just bring even more attention on you. He was smart enough to outwit the helicopter, they were unlucky to run into a squad car after that, and the best chance for them to get away was to go into a busy baseball stadium's carpark at the end of a game.

The Dagda wrote: »

I thought about that too but

if that was actually the case why didn't they specifically show the crims put on their LA hats and walk off into the crowd too, I suspect that what the director was trying to show was that he wasn't a good driver really, just a psychopath capable of extreme violence trying to be a getaway driver to stop his homicidal tendencies, hence the scorpian logo on his jacket and the reference to the scorpian and the frog fable later...

I don't think the driving was the problem - they were unlucky and kept getting spotted by the cops. If you're being chased by police with air support, at some point you have to cut your losses and run - and I would assume, given the conversation he has at the very start of the film, that this was an implicit part of the deal. We're not shown whether the crims escape or not because the driver doesn't care one way or another - he's given them the best chance possible to get away, the rest is up to them. If they didn't want to get arrested, the best way to do that would be not to embark on an armed robbery.

Which is not to say that the Driver doesn't also have violent tendencies. The only time he seems truly measured and in control of himself during the film is when he's behind the wheel.

Deleted User wrote: »

There's a lot of over reaction to the violence. I was expecting explicit, visceral violence and a

face caving in

on par with Irreversible but its very understated. It reminded me a lot of the films of Takeshi Kitano, in particular Hana-bi in that violence seemed to come out of nowhere. Perhaps it was the suddenness of it that has made such a lasting impression on people as I found it really rather tame and cannot understand how the film has an 18 cert over here. That said perhaps the final version has added CGI blood. I'm curious to see the pre MPAA version of the film, the

face stomping

is supposedly far more gory than the final version.

Personally it's not the level of gore so much as the casual and sudden way in which several situations went from being tense but under control to being brutally violent. It was handled in a much more grounded and realistic manner than most high-profile films featuring that kind of violence, but only two characters in the film are emotionally healthy enough to be shocked by it.

Sudden Valley

the suddenenss of the violence and the way it was shown on screen reminded me of a history of violence. But at least in that film there was some explanation for how the main character was so proficient at fighting in such a vicious manner- in this he didn't seem to have a violent past but suddenly became an expert brawler . Also I think Gosling is a good actor but don't think he was suited to play a monosyllabic character- sometimes it seemed he was shy other time it just looked like he was uninterested. Loved the film though

rossc007

Sudden Valley wrote: »

the suddenenss of the violence and the way it was shown on screen reminded me of a history of violence. But at least in that film there was some explanation for how the main character was so proficient at fighting in such a vicious manner- in this he didn't seem to have a violent past but suddenly became an expert brawler . Also I think Gosling is a good actor but don't think he was suited to play a monosyllabic character- sometimes it seemed he was shy other time it just looked like he was uninterested. Loved the film though

OT but love the username

dilallio

karma_ wrote: »

It's Brian Eno on the Screener, the theatrical version has a different track.

I thought Drive was incredible, loved it and I thought it was a completely refreshing departure from the traditional action/car chase film, I hadn't seen the trailer before I went in so I was completely blown away, and yes the soundtrack is fantastic too.

I think the same song was also used in 28 Days Later.
I loved the soundtrack in the Movie - reminded me a lot of some of Michael Mann's use of music in his movies.

briany

When I watched the opening credits, saw the styling, saw the names who were going to be involved, I was thinking "YEAH!!!" but the film never quite lived up to the mark set by the opening sequence for me. I thought that it was just paced too slowly.

The relationship between Gosling and Carey didn't really pay off in any tangible way and I don't think that a romantic interest should even have been involved. Gosling's silent almost melancholy character should have been a loner and the film could have explored his own psyche rather than going down the trite "Let's introduce a vulnerable single mother and her child, and then they'll care!" route.

Giruilla

briany wrote: »

The relationship between Gosling and Carey didn't really pay off in any tangible way and I don't think that a romantic interest should even have been involved.

but pretty much everything that happened in the film was because of the romantic interest?

I would have liked if there were more scenes of showing how clever the driver was like in the opening scene, rather than the descent into violence.