Drive

Watched "Drive" for the second time a few nights ago. I don't know why, but I think this movie is freaking awesome. Ryan Gosling is way cool, and he pulls off this character really well. In "Drive", Ryan Gosling is a, wait for it, driver. Anybody, but it seems to usually be criminals, can use his services. In the beginning, he shows up outside what looks like a warehouse of some type and just waits outside. We hear him explain what he does: "If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place and I give you a 5 minute window. Anything that happens in those 5 minutes I'm yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down, I don't carry a gun. I drive."

The story is of this Driver, who does these jobs, but is also a mechanic in a small garage. He just lives in a low rent apartment and just does this for his life. He notices he has a new neighbor, and becomes interested in her, but pretty much keeps it to himself. He sees her and her son having trouble with their car, and he helps and gets them home. She ends up taking her car into the shop where he works, and gives her a ride home because they need to keep her car. He ends up showing her and her son a good time and they grow closer. They see each other more and more. One day, she gets a call, and is told her husband is being released from prison. The Driver just backs off. He ends up finding this man nearly beaten to death, with his son terrified and hiding. The Driver comforts the boy, having gotten very close with him. Turns out this man was told to do a job, and is refusing, so he is getting beaten. The Driver decides to help him, and do the job so his family will be safe, and the women he grew to love doesn't have to live in this kind of life.

Anybody who has seen "Drive" will probably agree it is a great film, but it is also very brutal. The violence is pretty graphic, and it makes me cringe in some scenes. It seems to kind of surprise you. The movie is very calm and a little slow moving in some parts, and then all of a sudden somebody has a shower rod rammed inside him. It's usually pretty quick, but they weren't shy to show the viewer what is happening. The movie does contain a little nudity. Ryan Gosling goes into a strip club to talk to a man who works there to get information. It doesn't focus on anything, but occasionally you see a woman in the background who is topless. There are no sexual scenes or anything, just this quick scene in the strip club. Sadly, there is quite a bit of language. Ron Pearlman, who you may also know as "Hellboy", is the main bad guy/criminal in the movie, and he is just dropping swear words right and left. And so are a lot of the people he is working with.

The movie seems to be based in the 80's, with the music especially. With artists College, Kavisnski, and   Desire. The music is very good though. I have grown to really like these artists. The whole movie seems to have an older look to it. It is filmed in Los Angeles, California, and that is where the movie takes place as well. It is based on a novel called "The Driver" by James Sallis. It is also known for being much like a car chase film also called "The Driver" made by Walter Hill. With a cast that may not be very well known, it is still a fantastic movie. It was voted the best movie of 2011, earned 4 Independent Spirit Awards, and Golden Globe Nominee Albert Brooks won Best Supporting Actor.
"Drive" is an awesome movie, and everybody needs to see it at least once. I need to get my parents to make an acception for an R rated movie. It is fantastic.