Drive

This weekend I got a chance to watch one of those films that you never have the opportunity to watch because you can't find the time but everybody that surrounds you is just telling you "Whaaaaat? YOU HAVEN'T SEEN (film title here)?". The movie is DRIVE and it was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn who also directed Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and other movies related to ass-kickin male lead roles. I was afraid that because of all the hype created by everybody I would be disappointed but all i can say after watching the film was...damn. It is by far one of this years best film for many reasons. First of all ,the direction of the film was brilliant. the premise of the film is simple: " A mechanic by day and getaway driver by night falls in love". This is an idea that , in the wrong hands, easily could have been turned into an high speed action popcorn movie that serves as highly flammable eye candy but leaves you empty inside. But Winding instead of creating a movie mostly driven by explosion after explosion, he spent more time developing the relationships of the main character and took his time to let the audience connect with them before putting them in peril. My girlfriend use to say that I had an obsession with stories that are about justice where your constantly rooting for the good guy to go berserk on the bad guys kinda like Punch Drunk Love, The Road Warrior, etc. and this movie is no exception. Also, the soundtrack of this film is amazing. It really goes well with the 80's mood that the filmmaker wanted to convey which is pretty apparent with the neon pink credits and cinematography. The other cool thing is how they approach love in the film. Most of the scenes between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan where with little to no dialogue which opened up the space for more physical and subtle acting. Less is more. I could keep ranting about how awesome the movie is but that will just spoil your experience when you see it.