Why So Blu?

‘Drive’….To The Movies!

Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, based off of the book written byJames Sallis, is a movie that’s hard to throw into a genre.  It’s about a Hollywood stunt driver who works part time as a mechanic and a wheelman for the criminal underworld, until a failed heist means he has to kill everyone…you know, that old chestnut.  The film isn’t as advertised…..and I mean that in the best possible way.  Seeing early previews of the film, I entered the theater expecting to see some sort of cross between The Transporter meets Fast and the Furious meets some romantic hub ub utilizing the sex appeal of Gosling.  What I got was blood….lots of it.

That’s not to say that’s all the movie had, or that it was some sort of over-the-top Tarantino-esque film…it’s just that it came out of left field…like the whole thing.  It was a film that had about the same starting pace as A Space Odyssey- practically no dialogue,  tons of inner monologue, some interesting style (ode to pink lettering in opening credits and cheezy scorpion jacket) and then WHAM!…you are watching in detail what happens to a woman’s face when a shotgun is fired into it at point-blank range.

It shouldn’t have been such a surprise considering the Director, a Mister Nicolas Winding Refn, is also the genius behind films like Bronson and Valhalla Rising.  He gives the film this unique hard-twisted style that makes you feel like Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie and Tim Burton all had one drink too many one night, experimented with one another and birthed this film.  It’s the perfect balance of realism to pull you into each scene and style to fly in the face of that realism.

Ryan Gosling…..gentleman, if you were thinking that the former star of the film The Notebook would be too much of a puff to pull off the role of an ultra bad-a$$ wheelman, you can take a deep breath and finish drinking your Muscle Milk.  Gosling owns the role.  He has been pumping out great films over the past couple years, but most have stayed on the Netflix “watch instantly list,” but Drive will do for Gosling what Gangs of New York did for Leo.  He brings such intensity to the role without pumping out any sort of grand-standing testosterone like the way he just sounds and looks so sincere when he tells you he’ll make you choke on your own teeth.  You can’t help but take his word for it.  He kills in ways that make Dexter look like a moody wannabe and has a head-stomping scene that makes American History X look like a Disney film.

The lead character has no name and no background…but that’s okay, cuz backgrounds are for pu$$ies.  I can only imagine what the Production companies thought when they were handed such a short script, but if an image is worth a thousand words, then Drive will have enough burned into your memory to make a Lord of the Rings trilogy.  This film is a must see and thanks to Mr. Gosling, you can trick your girlfriend into seeing it with you.

Drive will have you enjoying the ride.

5 out of 5 Scorpion Jackets!