Drive: Existentialist action thriller based on a novel by James Sallis about a stuntman who works nights as a driver for the Mafia.
Film plot and background
He is what the film and music world calls a lonesome rider – a quiet loner who works as a mechanic and stunt driver by day. People only know him as Driver (Ryan Gosling), who offers his services as a getaway driver to the bad guys of Los Angeles at night. The only human ties he has are with Shannon (Bryan Cranston), the boss of the mechanic’s workshop, who also gets him the necessary orders. The driver doesn’t care about other contacts. This is to change, however, when he accidentally meets his new neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), who moves into the flat with her son and her boyfriend Standard (Oscar Isaac).
When Standard learns which one the Driver performs at night, he asks him to take a job as well. With the money captured during the robbery, Standard wants to buy himself free from various bill collectors in order to finally have peace of mind. Out of affection for Irene, he accepts the job. But it soon turns out that things go a little differently than planned…
With “Drive”, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn became known to the broad mass of viewers, as his film, based on the novel by James Sallis, enjoys great popularity. Although the story of the quiet getaway driver whose life is turned upside down by love is not a new one, the style, accompanied by the appropriate soundtrack, was convincing. Originally Hugh Jackman was intended for the role of the driver, but was replaced by producer Marc Platt’s preferred candidate – Ryan Gosling. Alongside the leading actor is Oscar Isaac, who at the time was best known for his role in “Sucker Punch”, but who was able to give his career a further boost with “Drive”.
