Speaking of Nicolas Winding Refn, which I did in the last paragraph of this piece, the celebrated Danish director of Valhalla Rising and Bronson has another new movie headed our way. It's called Drive and its red-band trailer takes me back to that hallowed period in the 1970s, when esoteric action films like Two-Lane Blacktop and Vanishing Point were in vogue.
In Drive, Ryan Gosling stars as a stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. As a nod to those cool existential '70s flicks, Gosling's character is unnamed. But, essentially, he's the personification of his profession. He's not just a driver; he is Driver.
Driver cruises along through life rather aimlessly until he meets a woman. She is, of course, no good for him, but he can't get her out of his mind. This chance meeting leads Driver into a web of crime and violence that will alter the very nature of his being — if he manages to make it out alive.
Refn has a lined up a wonderful cast, including Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston and Oscar Isaac. The trailer is stunning, filled with moments of quiet beauty and tough action. The whole affair is painted with a postmodern noir sheen that manages to feel both retro and contemporary.
Drive received great notices at Cannes earlier this year and has since been tooling around the festival circuit to a moderate amount of acclaim. It hits theaters on September 16, but I don't imagine it will make big bucks. In fact, it would almost seem wrong if it did. Drive clearly isn't for everyone, but in today's Hollywood, it's a victory that it exists at all.
Looking forward to this. I remember reading the novel and it's a short, fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Although for existential minimalism this has some way to go to beat Walter Hill's brilliant THE DRIVER.
I remember for a while Neil Marshall was making this movie with Hugh Jackman, but it looks like Refn has done a bang-up job.
I'm not too familiar with Ryan Gosling. He always struck me as one of those too-serious, mumbly method guys. But this trailer seems to show that he can pull off the stoic, aloof bad-ass pretty well.
Yeah, it looks like it mixes the existential with the action. I get a Steve McQueen vibe from Gosling in this clip. Maybe like "The Driver meets Bullitt." That's a cool combo!
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A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open.
Speaking of Nicolas Winding Refn, which I did in the last paragraph of 
Looking forward to this. I remember reading the novel and it's a short, fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Although for existential minimalism this has some way to go to beat Walter Hill's brilliant THE DRIVER.
I remember for a while Neil Marshall was making this movie with Hugh Jackman, but it looks like Refn has done a bang-up job.
I'm not too familiar with Ryan Gosling. He always struck me as one of those too-serious, mumbly method guys. But this trailer seems to show that he can pull off the stoic, aloof bad-ass pretty well.