When it comes to Drive, it seems that amongst film critics I am a minority. Most, though not all critics, droll over the violence, dressed in stylistic art by director Nicolas Winding Refn. They cheer the long pauses in which the Ryan Gosling character pretends to reflect a deeper world beneath. Sorry folks, I just don’t buy it, none of it; not Ryan Gosling, a bright actor whom I usually appreciate, as the tough driver who appeared out of nowhere and gets back to that same place, not Albert Brooks as the mobster, nor Carey Mulligan as Gosling’s love object. Some found Gosling, in this role, comparable to Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood. I find this comparison an insult to the later.
To its credit, the film does have a few bright moments including its opening scene, and a handful of other scenes. But all in all, what a letdown. It was a film I was actually awaiting enthusiastically to see but what can I say? I was glad to drive away when it was over.