This is a genre movie. As such, there is very little about it that is original, but the sum of its borrowed parts make for an original film. Paradoxical? Yes, but I thought about two major things as I watched this movie.
First, this movie could have been a silent movie. That's not just because its main character (the nameless Driver, played by Ryan Gosling) says very little, but because the photography of the film tells the story. I once heard that Orson Wells said that a viewer should be able to follow the story of any movie without being able to hear anything. In other words, the visuals of a film should be able to tell a story. Those who are fans of great dialogue may take issue with that statement, but it does ring at least partly true. In "Drive", the visuals tell the story. The dialogue is spare, and it is almost unnecessary. Every shot of the movie not only tells the viewer what is happening, but also what will happen next. Because of this, while this is not a message movie and has nothing to say of lasting significance, it is a cinematic wonder.
Second, and equally important, the movie borrows from so many other places that it is familiar to the viewer, even though it is totally original. While I watched, several movies came to mind. Michael Mann's work in "Collateral" came to mind as I watched the vistas of Los Angeles (my hometown). Clint Eastwood's work also came to mind. Gosling's character is given no name, just like Eastwood's character in the Sergio Leone westerns. Also, Eastwood's work in "Unforgiven" came to mind, especially as the driver begins to take care of his personal business with a certain air of invincibility. I thought of "Pulp Fiction", as the crime bosses in the valley saunter around the LA urban sprawl, leaving blood and chaos in their wake. I remembered David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive", with its dreamy night scenes. I thought of "Kindergarten Cop" and its woman and child in distress plot device (by the way, have you thought about "Kindergarten Cop" lately? Me neither). There is a touch of "North by Northwest", as the main character is drawn into a world with which he is unfamiliar, but seems remarkably agile at working his way through it. And the dreamy soundtrack and traditional opening credits reminded by of many different 80's movies. It also calls to mind countless action movies that I have seen ("Ronin" "Bulitt", the "Bourne" trilogy etc). I am also have read that it pays homage to grindhouse/horror films with its graphic violence (a genre in which I have no interest, so these homages meant nothing to me). This is a carefully constructed homage to many different movie elements.
The movie works because of the familiarity of its parts. Albert Brooks is solid as the mobster, and the sense of dread that the viewer has when he and his partner (Ron Perlman) are on the screen is palpable. But, we know that the Driver is smarter than them. How do we know? Because we have seen other movies. That's part of what the movie does very well. However, in spite of that predictability, this movie has such a fresh feel to it that I did find myself wondering what would happen to the protagonist until the very end of the film.
Every performance in the film is note perfect. In this kind of movie, the primary way to measure the performance to me is to judge how well a given performance services the story. Ryan Gosling does this very well, giving us a vision of coolness and calm under pressure. Carey Mulligan plays the damsel in distress well, and the boy actor who plays her son is just right. Albert Brooks plays a typical immoral mobster, and does it well. Ron Perlman plays the menacing mobster very well. Bryan Cranston plays the Driver's boss and gains great sympathy from the viewer. And Christina Hendricks (whom I have seen in "Mad Men") plays a hapless woman who has been drawn into the LA underworld, and cannot get out. This all comes together to tell a simple yet engaging story. It is hardly light hearted entertainment, mostly due to how graphic the violence is. But, it stands on its own as a unique work of cinema.
