You know what's the worst thing that can happen to a good director? Selling out. Big time. And do you know what's the easiest way to sell out? Going to Hollywood and making a movie for a big studio. Remember Gavin Hood? His Tsotsi won an Academy Award in 2006. Then he went to Hollywood, directed the god-awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine and is now working for TV. And do you remember Oliver Hirschbiegel? He made the excellent Das Experiment and the highly praised Downfall. Then he went to Hollywood, directed the über-flop Invasion with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and is now making movies back in Germany.
That's why it's a good thing to see a European director coming to Hollywood and making a movie that still has his style and doesn't bow down to any studio executive's demands. Enter danish auteur Nicolas Winding Refn and his remarkable Drive.
Drive is a crime movie with a minimal approach. The story is simple, a stunt driver played by Ryan Gosling who is also a wheelman gets mixed up in a heist gone wrong and starts going on a rampage against the people who are trying to get rid of him. That's it, nothing more, nothing less.
What makes this movie so much more than just another crime thriller is the atmosphere and the top notch performances. Gosling is the epitomized coolness, a man of few words and gestures. Carey Mulligan is perfectly cast as his doe-eyed love interest and creates a nice chemistry between the two. But it's Albert Brooks who takes the cake. He is Bernie, Gosling's boss and most terrifying screen presence I've seen since Melissa Leo in The Fighter. Academy, here's a sure bet for the upcoming Oscars next February.
While the film just breathes cool with beautiful shots of Los Angeles, a dreamlike score and long-lasting shots it is the sudden bursts of graphic violence that will leave you breathless and shocked. It might be a bit early to call it but Drive ranks up there next to classics such as Bullitt, The French Connection and Vanishing Point. I honestly doubt that there's gonna be another movie this year that is as badass and cool as this one.
So what are you waiting for? Go and watch this awesome movie, give it the audience it deserves!
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