Drive

In another instance of lazy titling, Drive stars Ryan Gosling as a stuntman/ criminal getaway driver for hire. At least that’s what was being sold as the film’s most important aspect. The character does work as both of those things, but the audience hardly ever sees it. The Driver, his name is never revealed, begins to fall for his neighbor, a mother, whose husband is in jail (Carey Mulligan) and finds himself in a web of danger after a heist gone wrong. So that’s a summary of the action. The rest of the movie is Gosling staring off into space or waiting an unnaturally long time to respond when others are speaking to him.

Drive is as slow a movie as I’ve seen this year. The plot crawls along, yet somehow the relationships feel rushed. The film was promoted as a heist, or big budget action movie, but it’s more of an emotional look at the mind of a singular character followed by some very gory violence. He only participates in two robberies and gets behind the wheel of a racecar once. Most of the titular driving is a profile shot of Gosling with an expression that only changes slightly no matter what the situation. After about the 15^th occurrence of this shot, it becomes apparent that this says something important about the mental awareness and personality of the character.

I completely understand why this would disappoint the masses, who want to see something more in line with Sylvester Stallone’s Driven from 2001. Drive is more for a fan of European movies to see alone on a Tuesday rather than a group of college students in a packed theater on Friday night. I am a big supporter of blockbuster action movies, but there is still a place for movies like Drive in the American box-office. Since it was promoted as something completely different than what it is, it’s hard to judge the movie independently. By action standards, it’s boring. By dramatic standards, it’s pretty powerful. Too bad the production company thought it was necessary to mislead the public. (7.5 out of 10)