Tuesday, September 20, 2011

drive (2011). directed by nicolas winding refn.


he reminds me of travis bickle from taxi driver (1976). this is a violent world, the city that eats from the inside out, he rolls into town unnamed with no history, he drives through the city alone looking for something that shocked him, and he found none. the thing that pulled him back into the familiar territory of feelings is a single mother with a boy, who is patiently waiting for her husband to return home from prison. she is his next door neighbour. 

the girl next door. 

he hangs around the married woman, he relished being the step in father figure to the boy. he enjoyed the vague notion of having a family, people he has to look after, a woman who loves him. he who lives from one hotel room to another, living out of a suitcase. that is the whole world to him, or used to be. for once - he understood why people have families. this is happiness. 

but it is only wishful thinking. it all ends when the husband returns and got all of them in a bandwagon of very, very bad people. instead of fighting for her love, he stepped away. he helped her husband, vaguely knowing this ain't going to end well. from where does this self-righteousness comes from? 

anyone who can turn ryan gosling into a raging maniac that walks around town in a bloody white jacket with a fist or a hammer ready to strike deserves a round of applause. i love the shots taken in the movie, the whole 1980's vibe is permeating the atmosphere right from the start, like credits written in bright pink. i like the simple story line that tightly bounds the characters in this universe of violence. i am impressed that the director didnt even try to distract the story with cheap sex scenes and focused on gosling's character as a man who is looking for something bigger than himself. 

i must say, so far this is the only movie that i can rate as good. i like it for all the right reasons - because it is a good movie worth spending time and buying tickets for. 

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