Cinema

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

THERE’S SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ME: Irene (Carey Wiliams, right) confesses to Driver (Ryan Gosling) that she is married and that her husband has been in jail all the time that they have been having an affair. Moreover, he will be paroled in a few days so they will have to hide their feeling for each other from her returning husband.

Grisly Crime Caper Finds Getaway Driver on the Run

Kam Williams

This riveting thriller is another solid movie with Ryan Gosling in which the not always appreciated actor establishes himself as among the best actors ever to win an Academy Award. In this film he portrays a Hollywood stuntman whose secret dream is to save enough money to become a professional race car driver on the NASCAR circuit.

After a day of executing dangerous rollovers on movie sets, he supplements his income by moonlighting as a getaway driver. And, provided his price is met and his privacy is respected, he doesn’t even want to know what each job is about.

This philosophy works well for the unnamed loner we’ll call Driver as long as he religiously protects his anonymity. But complications ensue soon after he meets Irene (Carey Mulligan), a flirtatious neighbor who lives right down the hall.

Driver naturally assumes her to be a single mother, since he has only seen her share the apartment with her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). Sparks fly, and they start spending time together.

However, Irene reveals to Driver that she’s married and that her husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), is about to be paroled from prison. When he arrives home a week later, the two agree hide their feelings for each other.

The ex-con, who wants to go straight, is too busy to be suspicious anyway, because he’s being pressured to pull one last heist by a loan shark (James Biberi), to whom he’s deeply in debt. Against his better judgment, Driver decides to break his rule about maintaining his anonymity, and agrees to drive the getaway car for Standard.

Unfortunately, the robbery goes horribly wrong, and Driver ends up in possession of a million dollar in loot. He soon finds himself being hunted by an army of mobsters threatening to harm him, Irene, and her son unless the cash is turned over to them.

The chase is on and, again and again, Driver makes the most of opportunities to demonstrate his skill behind the wheel. The slippery fugitive is also forced to fight and he doesn’t shy away from a good rumble.

Based on the James Sallis bestseller of the same name, Drive is a grisly crime saga which devotes as much attention to character development as to gruesome action sequences. The film was directed by Nicolas Winding Refn who boldly blends elements of the blood, sport, and romance genres.

The picture features several spellbinding performances besides Gosling’s, most notably Carey Mulligan, and Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks who are two of this year’s scariest villains. If you enjoy gore don’t miss this novel movie which provides you with an adrenaline fix along with a compelling love story.

Excellent (HHHH). Rated R for profanity, ethnic slurs, nudity, and graphic violence. Running time: 100 minutes. Distributor: FilmDistrict.

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

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