Toto’s Movie Review: ‘Drive’ (Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan)

In “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Ryan Gosling had the gift of gab playing a ladies man cut down to size by love.

His follow-up role in “Drive” finds the actor channeling his inner Steve McQueen. He communicates chiefly through long, penetrating stares. That might be disastrous for many actors, but Gosling can deliver without uttering a syllable.

It helps that the rest of “Drive” throbs with intensity, from an understated turn by Carey Mulligan to a rare burst of darkness from cinema’s clown prince, Albert Brooks.

Gosling plays a man simply known as the Driver, a Hollywood stunt man by day and getaway guru at night. The latter gig kicks off the film in nerve-wracking style. This Driver doesn’t want to get involved with his assignments. He simply drives the car, period.

That sense of detachment fails him when he meets Irene (Mulligan), a troubled young mom whose hubby (Oscar Isaac) is about to be released from jail. Our Driver develops a quick crush on Irene, but when her hubby ends up needing some help to stay out of trouble the Driver decides to offer his unique services to protect him.

Meanwhile, an L.A. mobster (Albert Brooks) and his high-strung partner (Ron Perlman) decides to fund the Driver’s fledging race car career, a subplot which teases but never quite delivers. The same can’t be said of Brooks, who looks invigorated to be let loose from his funny guy shtick.

“Drive” could have contented itself with the standard genre thrills – fast cars, forbidden romances and a sullen leading man. It’s a formula that’s hardly broke, but director Nicolas Winding Refn (“Bronson”) shatters it all the same. Gosling’s Driver rarely speaks, but his complicated emotions are visible in every frame. His relationship with Irene is a thing of quiet beauty, a dance of gestures that speak more loudly than most on-screen pairings.

The violence found elsewhere in the film proves abrupt and jarring, and the same can be said for the car chase sequences peppering the narrative. If “Drive” has a glaring flaw it’s the film’s final 15 minutes, in which the story threads come together in perfunctory fashion.

“Drive” gives Gosling yet another showcase to flash his acting chops, but it’s a better example of how a genre movie can aspire to something better with enough attention to detail.

(Photo: Ryan Gosling plays a man whose livelihood rests on his car skills in “Drive.” Film District)

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