Drive (2011)

A mysterious Hollywood stuntman and mechanic moonlights as a getaway driver and finds himself in trouble when he helps out his neighbor.

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (book)

Stars:

Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 80 wins & 178 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Gosling	...	Driver
Carey Mulligan	...	Irene
Bryan Cranston	...	Shannon
Albert Brooks	...	Bernie Rose
Oscar Isaac	...	Standard
Christina Hendricks	...	Blanche
Ron Perlman	...	Nino
Kaden Leos	...	Benicio
Jeff Wolfe	...	Tan Suit
James Biberi	...	Cook
Russ Tamblyn	...	Doc
Joe Bucaro III	...	Chauffeur (as Joey Bucaro)
Tiara Parker	...	Young Woman
Tim Trella	...	Hitman #1
Jimmy Hart	...	Hitman #2

Storyline

This action drama follows a mysterious man who has multiple jobs as a garage mechanic, a Hollywood stuntman and a getaway driver seems to be trying to escape his shady past as he falls for his neighbor - whose husband is in prison and who's looking after her child alone. Meanwhile, his garage mechanic boss is trying to set up a race team using gangland money, which implicates our driver as he is to be used as the race team's main driver. Our hero gets more than he bargained for when he meets the man who is married to the woman he loves.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | nameless character | mythical hero | silent protagonist | very little dialogue | 

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Taglines:

Some Heroes Are Real

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence, language and some nudity.

Did You Know?

Trivia

Casting director Mindy Marin, production designer Beth Mickle and costume designer Erin Benach have all worked with Ryan Gosling before "Drive." The latter has designed distinctive clothes for Gosling in Half Nelson (2006) and Blue Valentine (2010), as well as this film.

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Goofs

When Driver crashes into Nino's car and pushes him off the cliff, the car at the top of the cliff has all front end lights working. There is no chance the lights would have survived such an impact.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Driver: [on phone] There's a hundred-thousand streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?
[pause]
Driver: Good. And you won't be able to reach me on this phone again.

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Alternate Versions

The US theatrical version of the film featured less dialogue; the line referring to the toad and the scorpion was absent, as was Nino's line: "Go check out who this guy fucking is." The ambient track usage also varied, with some scenes containing altered tracks and or track timing, and in some cases different tracks entirely.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Under Your Spell
Written by Johnny Jewel
Performed by Desire
Courtesy of Italians Do It Better Records

User Reviews

Best Film of 2011: "Drive"

At the Theater- "Drive" -- This is not an Action film, this is not a "Car" movie- It's a character-driven, slow-burn thriller of the first order that features elements of some of the finer works from Directorial royalty like Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, William Friedkin, Quentin Tarantino, Walter Hill and the late Sam Peckinpah.

The film is an electric mixture of beautiful, lingering cinematography, a pulsating soundtrack, lean dialogue and short bursts of graphic, bloody violence. It's tense and involving- almost impossible not to get immersed in. Nicolas Winding Refn is a Director to definitely keep a tab on.

Ryan Gosling is the embodiment of some kind of cold fire at the heart of the matter- his "Driver" character is a well-intentioned but unstoppable force that will surely end up as a cult favorite for decades to come. Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks and Oscar Issac round out an excellent cast that's pretty much in support but extremely well-utilized.

Those wanting to check out a quick and disposable, mindlessly fun popcorn flick need to steer clear- this isn't what you're looking for. This is deadly-serious film-making that's damned-near perfect.

It's my favorite film of the year- Hell, it's one of my all-time top faves.

9.5 outta 10

Details

Official Sites:

Le Pacte [France] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drive

Filming Locations:

Saugus Speedway - 22500 Soledad Canyon Road, Saugus, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,340,461, 18 September 2011

Gross USA:

$35,061,555

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,187,281

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmDistrict, Bold Films, MWM Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1