Down Shift

Over the weekend, I went to see the new movie Drive. It stars Ryan Gosling as well... a Driver. (Literally, that is his character name.) By day, he drives stunts for movies. By night, he's a wheelman for hire for anonymous criminal adventures.

The movie seemed to be billed as an action thriller, with the promise of lots of cool car stunts. Or, if you prefer, "The Fast and the Furious," but not as dumb. But looks are deceiving here. In practice, the film is a slow-paced, noir-ish affair that feels more like a Michael Mann effort.

All movie long, we hear about what an amazing driver Driver is -- a virtuoso who can do anything behind the wheel of a car. We never see it. There are only two significant driving sequences in the entire movie. The one that opens the film displays the protagonist's ability to think on his feet and be clever more than his driving skills; the second one (halfway through the film) is far too brief to get the pulse racing. And you'd think a movie called Drive would have a car-centric finale, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong.

The writing is bad in other ways, too. Driver is a strong, silent type of hero who never says more than he has to (and usually says less). When he's being taciturn with his partner, or the Bad Guys, it works. When he also doesn't say anything to The Girl, you really have to question why she's ever drawn to him. Especially since she's married. And when he doesn't say anything to Her Husband to put him at ease, you wonder why he never tries to beat the crap out of him. It's all very strange.

What does work is the acting. The casting is superb. Like "who does this guy know in Hollywood to get these people to be in a movie like this?" good. There's Ryan Gosling, excellent as always. Carey Mulligan, rather fresh off an Oscar nomination for An Education, is a likeable and sympathetic love interest. Bryan Cranston is great, but thoroughly underused as the owner of Driver's garage. Ron Perlman chews the scenery as a villain. And in the most inspired casting, Albert Brooks goes dark and serious and plays the head of a criminal organization with a chilly demeanor and a nasty talent with a blade.

The look of the movie is also strong -- dark and brooding like its hero. (Though what's up with the weird pink, cursive titles that look like they came from an 80s movie?)

Overall, I generously rate the movie a C. Great actors are giving their all in service of something not worthy of their efforts. They make it watchable, but not compelling.