DRIVE yourself to the theater and see this now!

Last night I asked Jason to go see a movie and then I took a nap before we met.  Some people might know how dangerous this is.  You would know this because at some point you made plans with me and I slept right through them.  I am an extremely talented napper.  Once I am down, not a lot can get me to stir.  I set multiple alarms, people will call, text, shine lights through my windows and I am still snoozing.  The movie started at 8:00pm, Jason text me at 7:56pm to tell me he was outside the theater; I was in bed.  Luckily I live close so through bleary eyes I threw on some clothes and ran out the door.  When Jason saw me he said, “Nice pants….I think.”  This cracked me up later; I knew he was going to say something about my pants.  They were tribal print leggings and I am so in love with them.  We missed the previews which is a totally bummer but we made it just in time for the opening credits. 

I am so glad that I pulled my lazy ass out of bed because Jason and I saw Drive last night and it was soooooooooooooooooooooooo good!  I absolutely loved it. 

First off, to just get it out of the way, Ryan Gosling is fucking sexy.  I mean, seriously.  Obviously I loved the Notebook, because I am human, but I didn’t really have a huge crush on him then; I was more in love with him and Rachel McAdams together.  But damn, he was so good in this movie, so sexy, so pensive, so sincere, so badass.  But Ryan’s face isn’t what made the movie amazing. 

The feel of this movie was extraordinarily unique.  I wish I had words to explain.  The music was incredible, kind of electronic trance-y 80’s style, very international; not at all what you would expect from a movie with so much action.  The soundtrack is genius and was used sparsely but extremely artistically.  There were a lot of moments with no music, like car chase scenes, that would normally, in any other movie, have some crazy adrenalin-pumping song playing.  But in this movie it was quiet, real.  The director also let songs play through the end; they were more than just sound bits and became their own important element in the movie.  The song A Real Hero by College was the main song used in this movie and the soundtrack was built around it; it is beautiful and will totally give you an idea of the feel of the movie.  

College feat. Electric Youth - A Real Hero by College

NPR interviewed the Danish Director, Nicolas Winding Refn, who calls himself a fetish filmmaker.  He explains this song has a lyric that describes his idea for the movie: “To me it was the story about a character, the protagonist, who lived in two worlds.  By day he was a human being and by night he was a hero…it’s all about being isolated and not knowing why.  And using music as a way to express your emotions, like almost a way for you to cry.” He goes on to say that “music is the most important tool a director has to work with.  Because music enhances emotion and any kind of art form is about expressing and enhancing emotions.  And what’s good about music is that it’s so pure.  It’s pure emotions.  I mean the first movies for many years were just pictures with music.  So it’s based on that combination.” (source)

There was barely any dialogue, Ryan’s character is very quiet, reserved and controlled, but you can always see something in his face, what he is thinking and feeling…that is incredible acting.  It was quiet, but never boring.  So many movies assault us with flashy images and clips of loud music, scary beats to let you know something crazy is about to happen.  This movie depended on its strong characters and story and the chemistry in the interactions.  The lack of dialogue and music created a very palpable tension and anticipation of the character’s tentative emotional awakening.  It also created a very realistic, true experience. 

There was some insanely graphic violence in the movie that came totally unexpected.  It was disturbing but it didn’t feel gratuitous and it was so realistic, I can’t believe how realistic it looked.   

I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who can handle some slicing and blood squirting.  The violence takes a backseat to the story, and it is necessary to the story, but some people (like my mom) just wouldn’t be able to handle it.  Ryan Gosling will be considered one of the best actors of our time.  As M believes as well, I think he is extremely underrated.  He always chooses incredible scripts with really strong characters (Lars and the Real Girl, anyone?).  I truly get the feeling from him that he is in this business for the art and not the celebrity.  Carey Mulligan was also excellent in this movie.  I haven’t seen her in anything else, but I loved her in this.  She is adorable and sweet, but not weak or innocent, she comes across very real.  There were a lot of great actors in this movie. 

This is the best movie I have seen in a really long time; I would totally see it again, like right now.  It was beautiful, which is such a strange thing to say of a movie about a getaway driver in Los Angeles.  This movie blew me away.