Drive

Drive centers around Ryan Gosling's western inspired man-with-no-name character type known only as 'the Driver'. His life is put on a dangerous line after the heist of a local pawn shop goes wrong and he is forced to evade or confront the gang who set him up.

I'm horrifically split down the middle as to how to view this film. One half of me was blown away by the visuals, where the director stylishly plays with light to create unnatural but profoundly beautiful effects. The 80s inspired electronic soundtrack adding further to this overall, hugely effective atmosphere. Gosling's performance is intriguing and creates a heavy smog of mystery surrounding the character, playing with the Clint Eastwood character type to dangerously unrealistic levels, but he just about manages to pull it off effectively. The mystery of the character creates further tension as to how the plot will play out and how he'll react to certain events.

On the other hand it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The flow of the film is far too uneven. Apart from the exhilarating opening scene the first half is sedated to a crawling, boring pace that the visuals can't even rescue. The film is interjected with scenes of excitement, gore and beauty but I don't think it was even enough to make it effective in holding the audiences attention. It certainly keeps you guessing, but for far too long.

For me, certain points of Drive are beautiful and largely effective. The scene in the lift, the opening, the heist and following chase. I can't wait to see it again. Maybe a second viewing will lead me to realise just how overrated this really is. But for now, the director Nicolas Winding Refn certainly has my interest. [B+]