event Drive

Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive tells the story of a stuntman by day and getaway driver by night played by Ryan Gosling (credited simply as the “Driver”). Gosling delivers most of his performance in a restrained, subtle manner that’s only broken with flashes of brutal violence when he makes the mistake of unknowingly agreeing to a doomed job. The fairy tale-like narrative is set in the gritty underbelly of Los Angeles’ crime syndicates, which seem more like a cliché than actuality in the context of the film. With the laconic pace of a Jean-Pierre Melville crime thriller and enough overt style to one-up a John Hughes film, Drive will challenge any audience members to redefine how they think of action films—and perhaps to think of their favorite B-movie to compare it to. 

Director Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive tells the story of a stuntman by day and getaway driver by night played by Ryan Gosling (credited simply as the “Driver”). Gosling delivers most of his performance in a restrained, subtle manner that’s only broken with flashes of brutal violence when he makes the mistake of unknowingly agreeing to a doomed job. The fairy tale-like narrative is set in the gritty underbelly of Los Angeles’ crime syndicates, which seem more like a cliché than actuality in the context of the film. With the laconic pace of a Jean-Pierre Melville crime thriller and enough overt style to one-up a John Hughes film, Drive will challenge any audience members to redefine how they think of action films—and perhaps to think of their favorite B-movie to compare it to.