Drive

Autumn is the time when, every year, the movies most likely to be recognized for awards season are released. Last year, one of the names that was often mentioned by critics as one of the best movies of the year and likely Oscar contender was Drive. Usually, these two factors are very good signs that I will like a movie. I'm thinking specifically of The Social Network which I would not have seen had it not gotten a September release and critical acclaim. I heard  the performances in Drive  were top notch, the music was beautiful, and it was a visually striking film. I could not have been more eager. Then I saw it. I was incredibly disappointed. I did not like it one bit. However, I was perplexed because the performances were great, the music was thrilling, and it was one of the most visually exciting movies I had seen that year. I couldn't exactly place my finger on the problem, so I waited and rewatched it when it came out on DVD to see if I could find it.

 Again, there was much to be admired, starting with the incredible opening car chase through the streets of Los Angeles which has to be one of the best I've ever seen. The scene was shot from inside the car, so the audience can get close to the driver and see how he performs his job (to drive criminals to and from the crime scene) under pressure. This opening suggested to me that the movie would focus on the driver, get to know him better. It also suggested an action packed movie. However, after this one scene, all attempts are dropped at trying to figure out who the driver is and he becomes almost completely un-relatable which really frustrated me because I could see this movie had real potential. Also, the action is almost completely abandoned something I wouldn't have been bothered with if the movie hadn't been marketed as an action thriller and had that confirmed in the very first scene.

Shot of L.A shows balance of blue and orange

Driver

Nicolas Winding Refn, the director, is color blind. According to him, he can register only high contrast, bright colors. As a result his movies are visual beauties unlike most films. The most prevalent colors in Drive are blue and orange. Together they work wonderfully. Refn wisely uses the contrast of the two colors to make both the left and right side of the screen call  attention to themselves simultaneously thus creating visual tension. It's also interesting to note that as the film goes on and gets incredibly violent towards the second half, the (warm) orange overtakes the (cool) blue until the final shot of the film (once the conflict is resolved) when it returns to fill the whole screen.

 the antagonist before the final confrontation with Driver

after the confrontation. last shot of  Driver

But this time I was able to pinpoint many specific problems that kept me from enjoying the movie. Most noticeably were the unexpected (and in my opinion out of character) acts of extreme violence from the driver that seem to fit in more nicely with the looney tunes than in a live action drama. During these scenes, laughter filled the theatre. Everyone recognized the rivers of blood were out of place. There is a way to deal with extreme violence ( see Kill Bill or any other Tarantino movie) this was not it. In the most violent scene of the movie, the driver savagely stomps on a man. However, afterward there's a shot of the drivers back. He's heavily breathing from the effort and the bright gold scorpion on his jacket seems to be moving, alive and ready to strike again. Looking at that shot apart from the movie, I loved it. It should be one of the reasons why I ought to like the movie. But when I saw it as part of the movie, I was so put off by the violent act that came before that I wasn't able to enjoy it.

The other thing that really bothered me about Drive was the fact that it's dialogue and story  are minimalistic to an incredibly frustrating degree.  Refn started with a meager 80 page script from which he cut 60 percent of the dialogue.That essentially left him with a short story from which he created a movie that spans 1 hour and 40 minutes.  felt that I needed to know more about who the driver is, about his personality and his intentions to care about him. I get that Refn wanted a "man with no name" Clint Eastwood type of hero, but he gave so little information about the driver that he came across as confusing  instead of mysterious.  Bottom line is that Drive is a wasted opportunity. It was a movie that had potential. It has a lot to admire, but it's flaws make it  much too hard to like.

Verdict- 3/4
 Drive (2011) R 1 h 40 min