Drive

I was reluctant to watch this, because I remember it getting a lot of hype when it came out. That's always dangerous, raise the expectations ahead of time. But I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't realize Ryan Gosling's character had anything going other than being wheelman for crimes. But he works as a stunt driver, as a mechanic, is possibly going to enter the pro racing circuit with his boss (played by Bryan Cranston).

Granted, all those things revolve around cars and driving, and there doesn't seem to be much else in his life. His apartment is barely furnished, but he doesn't seem to even like staying there. When he's there, he can't wait to get back out and in a car again. Is that because there's nothing else he cares about but cars, or does he drive so much because there's nothing else in his life? I don't know.

But I wonder, watching the film, how much he even enjoys driving. He does it with the same calm he does almost everything in the film (or than hurting people). He doesn't tap the steering wheel in time with the music on the radio, or bob his head. I guess the mark of him enjoying it is in the level of focus and preparation he puts in it. There are a lot of shots of him while driving checking something that's out of the shot in the upper right side. I'm not sure if he's checking the stoplight, to be able to move as soon as it turns green, or checking his rearview mirror to make certain no one's after him.

Gosling's performance feels understated in that way where you can pin any motivation or reading you want onto it, for better or worse. He doesn't say a lot. He mostly stands quietly. If he responds to a question at all, it's after a pause long enough you wonder if he is going to say anything, and it's usually a short response. I don't know what that means, either. He's self-censoring? Choosing his words carefully? Maybe he's trying to decide if he even does want to respond.

The story, the way that everything that wrecks it all happens because of some faceless east coast mob guys we never meet, I kind of like that. The way people you'll never know can entirely foul up your life. It's not a happy message, but it's undoubtedly true. They treated Ron Perlman like shit, to the point he decided to rob them, then double-cross the guys who were supposed to do it, and everything goes downhill from there.

Or you could look at it as all these characters made a bad choice once, put their trust in the wrong person, and it's ruined their lives. Fucked a guy at a party, had a kid, he ends up in jail, she's left holding the bag. Totaled a car and his hip and driving career are toast. Committed crimes, went to prison, end up in debt to people he doesn't want to be in debt to. The past dogs them.