Do you know the story about the scorpion and the frog? If you don’t then watch “Drive”.
Many people consider this the best film of Nicolas Winding Refn and one of the best performances by Ryan Gosling. I cannot agree more. Although I am as much exalted about “Only God forgives” as for this movie, I cannot deny the human face of “Drive”. And that’s a feature which we cannot see in “Only God forgives”.
So let’s talk about “Drive”. Why do we like it? Because of the real reason behind the title of the movie – “Drive”. Refn implies that the most important message of this film is that the choices which we make really drive our lives in the direction which we follow. And we make the wrong choices most of the time. Even when we want to do the right thing. And namely these choices “drive” us away from each other as people. Distance is felt throughout the whole movie. Between the main character and Irene and Benicio. Between the Driver and Shannon. And ultimately between the Driver and his dream to be a real person with a loving family.
The main character has no past and no future, he exists only in the present. The neo-noir art house stylistic of the film is impressive and adds to the violent loneliness felt throughout the movie. The music is retro synthesized and complements the tone of the film. We as viewers feel tension until the very end of the story. The juxtaposition of vionence and romance culminates in the elevator scene where destiny is determined by choice. The acting is potent and masterful.
I must admit that this film will be a real treat for the moviegoers who expect to see perfect blend between story, acting and cinematography. After all the most important thing to me is that this artwork shows us that we are all in charge of our lives, but we rarely make the right decisions to go where we want to go and be what we want to be. And this is the exact reason why we as modern society lack the mutuality which should help us get through whatever obstacles we have in life.