‘Drive’ was a film, I have to admit, I kind of stumbled upon by accident. I wasn’t a fan of Ryan Gosling, I had never heard of Nicolas Winding Refn. Yet, I bought a ticket to see the North American premiere at TIFF. All i knew of this film was it had Christina Hendricks in a smaller role (who I have a big crush on) and supporting roles by Albert Brooks, and Bryan Cranston. Since it was the premier I was hoping maybe Hendricks or Brooks would be there for the Q&A after the film; that’s what sold me on it.

When the night came for the film I arrived late due to a previous screening, rushed into an open seat in the front row, crinked my neck back and stared up at the screen waiting for the film to start.

The lights went dark, I was surrounded by women who were there to pawn after Gosling during the Q&A; I was tired, hungry, thinking about TIFF’s schedule for the following day…my mind was everywhere but the theater. 

Then the first frame came on and all that changed. Bright-neon-hot-pink text. A slow pan and small crane up from a map of the city to reveal Gosling standing in a shady hotel room. Atmosphere oozed from every pore of the screen as the soundtrack held back with a menacingly low drone… I knew I had entered a different world. A world of pulp, heroes, and fairy-tales.

(Refn, Cranston, Brooks, Gosling @ Ryerson Theater 9-10-11. Toronto, ON )

After an amazing Q&A I walked out of the Ryerson theater and lined up again to see the next film I had tickets for. Problem was I wanted to see Drive again…

The plot is pretty straight forward…a stuntman moonlights as a get away driver. He gets involved in a heist gone wrong, things escalate, etc etc. The plot could be used for any generic action film. But what sets it apart is Refn chooses to spend most of the film focusing on the moments in between those generic plot points.

‘Drive’ is not an action film, it is a low key neon-noir that is first and foremost about the interactions between the characters and the themes that surround them. It’s a film that’s never afraid to stop, be silent and breathe, but never hesitates to bring moments of dirty violence in loud and abruptly.

Gosling’s character of ‘The Driver’ is not about the moments where he’s doing stunts or being a bad ass. It’s about those quiet moments in between, the moments where he doesn’t know what to do with himself, those moments where sits alone in his car at night and just drives.

That’s one of the reasons I chose to create my second GIF set for ‘Drive’ (which you can find below this post). I wanted to show the contrast of a character whose whose lost somewhere in between the moments of violence and a lonesome tranquility 

Please check this one out if you haven’t already. It was hands down my favorite film of 2011. Just don’t go in expecting a fast paced action flick…put yourself in the mindset of a pulpy ‘Taxi Driver’ meets an 80s aesthetic and you’ll be set for one hell of a ride.