I finally watched "Drive" last night. Heard a lot of buzz about it, both
negative and positive, and finally saw it on instant streaming.
An arthouse approach doesn't always work for me. But when it all comes
together in a cohesive whole, like in Drive, it works. And boy, it
really worked here. This is obviously one director's unique vision, and
he went and crafted everything specifically to that vision and it's
wonderful. The 80s soundtrack, the pink credits, the cinematography...
it all felt right. Albert Brooks was amazing. This is a guy who normally
plays comedic roles, but he's a joy to watch as a mob boss stabbing
people with knives.
Some people had complained about the lack of dialogue and long scenes of
staring. I gotta say... didn't have a problem with those at all. I
really liked the tender relationship between the Driver and Carey
Mulligan. They don't say much, but you can tell how they're feeling from
their looks. Sometimes when there's a connection between 2 people, you
don't need to say much. They were soulful gazes and it worked for me. It
also highlighted that this was a very unusual thing for the Driver.
He's socially inept, cause I guess he's always just been focused on
driving. This was the first girl that had really gotten to know him, so
it makes sense that he wouldn't know how to say much.
About the ending:
The ending kinda confused me. They both stab each other, but the Driver
somehow survived. I'm not sure it's really possible to survive getting
shanked in the gut and just applying pressure with your hand. I think it
might've been a bit more realistic if he'd died. Cause there's the shot
of his face, and the movie holds on it for a really long time, before
he finally blinks and you know he's alive.