Drive

Drive

Do you know the old fable about the scorpion and the frog?  The scorpion comes to a river and asks the frog if he will ferry him across on his back.  Despite the fact that scorpions are dangerous, the frog agrees.  So the scorpion hops on the frog's back and the two begin to go across the river.  Halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog, paralyzing him.  Sinking, the frog cries out, "why did you do that?  Now we'll both die!"  And the scorpion just replies, "It's my nature."

I mention this because the fable of the scorpion and the frog has a deep thematic tie to Drive, one of the best movies of last year.  And no, the fable does not ruin anything about the movie, so don't think I spoiled anything.  I would never do that to you!  But I do think knowing the fable increases your enjoyment of the film and allows you to see it on another level.

Our frog is the unnamed character played by Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March).  In the credits, he is called the Driver, so we'll call him that, too.  During the day, he is a movie stunt driver and a mechanic at a garage owned by Shannon (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad).  In his spare time, he is a getaway driver for bank robbers and gangsters.  He is the frog ferrying these bad men to safety.  And as if there were any doubt about the symbolism, he also wears a jacket that literally has a scorpion on its back.

There is a difference between Driver and the frog in the fable.  When the scorpion tries to sting Driver, he fights back.  And damn, can he fight.  When one of the heists goes horribly wrong, Driver finds himself a target of local gangsters Bernie and Nino, played by Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo) and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).  But he's not gonna go down easy, and things are gonna get bloody.

But don't let this description fool you.  Drive is not an action film.  The violent scenes, though gruesome, are few and far between.  This is more of a character study of the Driver.  More time is spent on his relationship with his neighbor, Irene, played gracefully by Carey Mulligan (An Education).  But even these scenes are slow - the Driver and Irene spend more time looking at each other and smiling than they do talking.  And it's actually kind of sweet.

I do not want to imply that this slow pace is a negative thing.  It's not.  But I do think people should be warned before getting into it - this isn't The Fast and The Furious.  The pace works for the mostly silent character of the Driver and is an important element of the film.  If they had sped the pace up, then it probably would not have worked as well as it did.

While I want to make sure people know what they are getting into, let me be clear when I say Drive was one of the better films of 2011.  Superb direction, writing, and acting all combine to make one helluva movie.  I consider this one of the big snubs of the 2011 Oscars.  How the poorly reviewed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close got nominated and Drive didn't...sigh, I don't get it.

MVP:

Ryan Gosling, easily.  In three different movies in 2011 (Drive, The Ides of March and Crazy Stupid Love) and with three very different performances, Gosling showed how truly versatile he really is.  With his smaller frame and cherub face, Gosling didn't really seem like a badass to me, but he totally owns this performance and is a truly powerful force of violence when he is unleashed.  But his performance is even more remarkable because it is mostly silent.  He has so few lines, and focuses on his body language and eyes to sell the emotion.  It's great work, making him an easy MVP.

BEST LINE:

Driver: You tell me where we start, where we're going, where we're going afterwards.  I give you a five minute window.  Anything happens in that five minutes, I'm yours.  No matter what.  Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own.  I don't sit in the car while you're running it down.  I don't carry a gun.  I drive.

TRIVIA:

Drive was originally going to star Hugh Jackman and be directed by Neil Marshall (Centurion).  That would have been interesting, but probably would have been more of a straight action movie.  It certainly would have not have hit the cult classic status that Drive has already claimed.