Drive

[socketlevel]

It's almost like he's channeling Chance from "Being There." it's not goofy, it's that part of him never grew up. SPOILER - when he is having the conversation with the little boy about the cartoons, he really doesn't know how to spot the bad guys from the good guys. To the boy, the shark would be the villain based on cliche and the obvious association with that animal. The driver doesn't look at people that way, so he can't pick up on it in an animated show either, despite the obvious indicators that the vast majority of society would have no trouble associating. He's not being cute for the kid. it's this very same personality trait that makes the driver live up to his word every time he makes a claim. when he says the money is in the trunk, it is. Brooks can't believe it, he is surprised at the lack of deception in the driver. to call his character goofy, or his face for that matter, is missing it entirely.

every choice this film made played against the cliche as much as it supported it. almost every scene had a sentiment from all the characters that went against what you would see from an exploitation film made like this in the past. the great scenes and great bits of acting came primarily from the script and evolved from there.  SPOILER - like when pearlman's character insists they must kill the driver and cranston's character, you see the pain on Albert Brook's face. He realizes he's right, but it really hurts him that there is no other choice.  that's why when he cuts his arm he is gentle with him. Another interesting choice was making Cranston so vocal about how he hates pearlman to Brooks. He is witty, and speaks in a cant with Brooks, like an inside joke about the retarded brother. And in those earlier moments Brooks laughs along with Cranston, understanding the irritation and humor. Yet again this isn't normally how a script would approach this strange relationship triangle. Normally Cranston would just be the scared george mcfly type character.

SPOILER - also right before brooks kills cranston, he exclaims how sad he is that they won't get to ride their car in the races. You can see he really wanted it, it wasn't just some cool shit to say to a guy right before he killed him for the audiences sake.

I could go on, it's just a brilliant film.

EDIT - oh and after I really loved watching this movie, i checked out the pusher trilogy and bronson... They're total shit; Forgettable garbage.

[Reel]

I'm just not used to Gosling, I never really saw any of his movies besides half-nelson and I couldn't get over his goofy dumb face the first time I saw it.

[polkablues]

I'm pretty sure he was playing the character as mildly autistic. That's not a joke, I actually thought that while watching it and thought it was kind of a brilliant choice.

[Sleepless]

EDIT - oh and after I really loved watching this movie, i checked out the pusher trilogy and bronson... They're total shit; Forgettable garbage.

Well at least I don't have to attempt to rewatch Bronson. I only got about half-way through it last time. I haven't seen this yet, but I like the idea of the supposed similarities to Chance. I generally find myself in agreement with Stefen's opinion of films recently though, so I'm probably not going to make an extra-special attempt to check this out in the cinema and wait for the DVD instead. I'm half-excited.

[squints]

so I'm probably not going to make an extra-special attempt to check this out in the cinema and wait for the DVD instead. I'm half-excited.

Dude, this is retarded. This movie was the most fun i've had in the theater in a long time.

[socketlevel]

I'm pretty sure he was playing the character as mildly autistic. That's not a joke, I actually thought that while watching it and thought it was kind of a brilliant choice.

yep exactly, just like Chance. He doesn't have the same being a by product of television aspect of Chance, just the unaffected innocence/ autistic element.

so I'm probably not going to make an extra-special attempt to check this out in the cinema and wait for the DVD instead. I'm half-excited.

Dude, this is retarded. This movie was the most fun i've had in the theater in a long time.

yep exactly, get your ass to the cinema and sit it down.

[Reel]

I think you hit it right on the nose with that comparison, socketlevel.

Gosling on the character of the Driver:

" I think he's somebody who's seen too many movies. He's confusing his life for a film, and he's made himself the hero of his own action film. He's just kind of lost in the mythology of Hollywood. "

[Stefen]

I generally find myself in agreement with Stefen's opinion of films recently though, so I'm probably not going to make an extra-special attempt to check this out in the cinema and wait for the DVD instead. I'm half-excited.

Definitely see it in the cinema if you can. I downloaded it because it wasn't playing near me and I didn't want to wait, but it's playing now and I totally regret not waiting and seeing it in the cinema on the big screen. I still plan to see it this weekend, just wish the big screen could have popped my DRIVE cherry real gently, and not sloppy drunk e-sex like how it ended up happening.

It's stylish and the music is great. It deserves a viewing on the big screen.

[Gold Trumpet]

Spoilers

It's a fun film and enjoyable, but I don't match the hype. For their intended purposes, the performances are fine. Mulligan is domestic and alluring enough to attract Gosling. He wants the peace in her face when she is with her kid. He's also taken aback by her desperation in tense moments. It's a two note performance. Gosling's performance is a Jean Pierre Melville nod. He is all image and acts accordingly by constantly trying to stretch himself to come out his tough guy dimension. The dimension allows him to be even keel about what he does, but he yearns to be, as the song repeatedly says in the film, "human".

The allusions and story I could not take seriously. The better filmmaking moments are found in the good suspense moments, but my ultimate problem is that stylistic renderings of melodramas like this have been done a thousand times in more interesting ways. For me, there was too much melodrama. In Melville world, his simplicity allowed him to be more essential with his characterization, but he never had an overly moralistic story like this one. In the style vs. story matter, I felt the film was trying to have it both ways a little bit too much. I thought the style should have been more ambitious and clouded over the story a lot more.

[Reel]

my ultimate problem is that stylistic renderings of melodramas like this have been done a thousand times in more interesting ways. 

name some examples. I'm not challenging you, I'm just interested.


P.s. Welcome back GT, where you been at?

[squints]

my ultimate problem is that stylistic renderings of melodramas like this have been done a thousand times in more interesting ways. 

seriously. like what? Le Samourai? Rambo?

[Stefen]

I see the Melville comparison. Especially with Le Samourai. Costello was badass. Even the sparse apartments are the same. Both characters don't have shit going on in their personal lives. And they both did work, but nobody knew because they were so methodical in how they went about it. In Drive, he's recognized at a diner and he lays the law down and tells dude he will kick his teeth in if he keeps bringing shit up. In Le Samourai, Costello spends the whole movie trying NOT to be recognized and spotted. It's basically Goslings character 15 years later. It's an apt comparison.

I loved the flick and GT seemed to have been letdown by it, but his comparison is fair, and so are his thoughts about the film.

I've watched it three times (and will see it in the cinema this weekend), and I think, after Tree of Life, it's the best film of the year. It combines both style and substance which is a rare feat to make happen. So many films make one or the other happen, but this one does both. I love the autism questions about Goslings character. Total man child. The only beef I had with it was Mulligan being wasted and Brooks being miscast, but I get it. It's a fantastic movie.

[Reel]

my ultimate problem is that stylistic renderings of melodramas like this have been done a thousand times in more interesting ways. 

ooh, you know what another good one is? Ghost Dog... I defiinitely gotta check out Le Samourai, which based on a Wikipedia search, greatly influenced this:

The Driver is a 1978 crime film directed by Walter Hill and starring Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, and Isabelle Adjani. Based upon similarities in plot elements, it is heavily influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville's film Le Samouraï. The film is also notable for its impressive car chases, its no frills style of filmmaking, and its rarely-speaking, unnamed titular character. A professional driver (Ryan O'Neal) who steals cars to drive as getaway vehicles for big-time robberies. Hot on the Driver's trail is the Detective (Bruce Dern), a conceited cop who refers to the Driver as "the cowboy who's never been caught" and is willing to go to any length to bring him down. The Detective becomes so obsessed that he sets up a bank job in order to entice trap, and ultimately arrest, the Driver.


even the lead actor's name is Ryan.

[martinthewarrior]

This is definitely a fun film to talk about, and I'm bummed that I was inactive during the bulk of the conversation that transpired after I made my initial reaction post. I have since re-watched the movie, and feel pretty much the same. No, jesus, I don't think Mulligan was miscast because she wasn't playing a "blonde bombshell". That assumption is slightly insulting. I think she was miscast for the exact reasons I original proffered. She is a bland female character that serves no purpose other than reflecting the man-boy tendencies of a boring lead. And I do think she's better than that. I found the autistic reading, as it concerns Gosling's character, to be a really valid one, and one that I didn't think about during my first, or second viewing. Maybe I'll watch it a third time with that theory in mind. In summary, I think it's a glorified male arrested development fantasy that is being made out to be much more than that. And yes, I feel that Mulligan's character plays into that bullshit. Just my opinion.

I also have to disagree, slightly, with the comment that stated that I liked Brookes performance the most, simply due to the number of lines he had in relation to Gosling and Mulligan. But, there's a kernel of truth there, and that truth is, I probably just had a problem with the writing. I never felt like Brookes was a convincing gangster, but he was a convincing something. I just didn't feel that way with Gossling and Mulligan. Again, it's just my opinion. I know this board is big on PT. For all of Sandler's stunted and silent man-boy-isms in punch drunk love, I bought him. There was a plausible motivation, to my taste, behind his tearing up a bathroom, or putting his fist through a glass door, or falling ridiculously in love with his female counterpart. I wanted to feel it here, but didn't. It felt like a taxi driver rehash, with all the flair, but none of the nuance.

[RegularKarate]

Haha... why do you keep watching a movie you don't like?
I assume you say this movie is "fun" to talk about because you like being the one who doesn't like it.  Have fun with that.

I just did the opening credits for my sketch troupes show and I couldn't help but use "Nightcall" and that hot pink font for the titles.  So much fun.