Drive

La troisième fois que je l'ai vu au cinéma m'a définitivement confirmé que décider entre quatre ou cinq étoiles est absurde ici. Drive est un défi pour l'amateur de cinéma. C'est un débat, une exploration plan par plan, phrase par phrase. On ne peut pas le classer dans une catégorie qualitative, on ne peut pas ne pas l'admirer. C'est un opus hypnotiquement calme et lent, tout en étant bouillonnant d'émotions et de tension. Il utilise plusieurs genres, mais ne peut être catégorisé clairement dans aucun d'entre eux. Il garde la plus grande distance par rapport au personnage principal, ne nous permettant pas de le comprendre et de ressentir sa relation avec la fille pour laquelle il se tourne vers une violence extrême et graphique pour la protéger. Cette violence devient ainsi choquante par elle-même, mais contraste de manière irrésistiblement cathartique avec la poétique romantique environnante. À travers une caméra et une musique extravagantes, le film cache l'importance des dialogues, qui sont le pilier de l'histoire. Il les sert modestement, presque fragmentairement, mais les personnages sont parfaitement définis dès leur première ou deuxième réplique. Les acteurs sont choisis de façon originale et inattendue, et le réalisateur transforme leur statut de stars déchues ou d'éternels seconds rôles en incarnations de personnages au génie propre, à la manière d'un Tarantino, qui resteront à jamais gravés dans votre mémoire. Refn a le potentiel pour être le nouveau Tarantino. Mais Drive n'est pas encore son Pulp Fiction. Il aura besoin de plus de pièces sur l'échiquier et d'une intrigue plus complexe pour y arriver. (23/11/2011)

I haven’t seen a better film in the cinema this year. A dreamy, sad artsy gangster flick with an extremely charismatic protagonist and a perfect soundtrack. It gave me goosebumps, and more than once. Drive is basically a compilation of Refn’s previous films (I’d dutifully watched them all before). It’s like Pusher shot with the same slick cinematography of Valhalla Rising, spiced up with a blend of the music and the images of Bronson, and mixed with the ambiguous atmosphere of Fear X. A film that can be easily described as “beautiful”, even if fingers are smashed with a hammer, heads are shot and throats are cut. For me, a masterpiece without any flaws, but, as it’s been said, it’s certainly not for everyone. I’ve been playing “A Real Hero” on repeat for an hour. (16/09/2011)

For me, a completely bombastic demonstration of what a director with a vision can do from forgettable genre spectacles. Refn projected his fascination with inaccessible heroes, which is prolonged by passion and also by the fascination with stories in which the hero selflessly sacrifices himself. His pagan relishing of vibrations long after the main action of the shot is once again pure happiness, not to mention the beautifully shot car chases and captivating atmosphere of a Los Angeles night. Again, it should be underlined that for Refn, there is no main logic and story - these are just secondary links to the extremely strong scenes elaborated down-to-the-last detail. I look forward to the listing of all the nonsense that analyst viewers can bear, thinking that there is some consistency and story refinement in Drive. What fascinates me to the core: although this time the characters really talk a lot (they are Americans after all), the essentials about their motifs are expressed by Refn with a hint, gesture, facial expression. He simply remained Nordic, even in a field that is supremely "Hollywood". While it's a film with a completely accessible story, Refn made it into an uncontracted author's manifesto and a festival of subversive image-sound connectivity. I just love that Danish boy! Maybe he should make a Bond film. (07/09/2011)

Drive reminded me of the movie Collateral in its intimacy. Its story is incredibly subtle, but for the whole 100 minutes, I watched with bated breath and hardly moved, so as not to let go of the incredibly oppressive and minimalist atmosphere in the room. However, it was not just the story that made an impact, but a perfectly directed film in its essence, flawless in both atmosphere, visuals, and especially music, which works wonders with the movie. For example, I liked the opening credits with the music as I haven't liked any in a long time. The whole film had a momentum and Ryan Gosling even showed me fully who he really is and what a good actor is hidden in him. Thanks to this film, I will never forget him and I will look forward to every his contribution to the world of cinema. (07/05/2012)

It’s hypnotic (almost everyone talked about the soundtrack after leaving the movie theater), clings to details (cinematography, sound), and constantly goes against established audience expectations. When I got up from my seat, sweat was pouring off me and it wasn't just the heat in the movie theater. (14/09/2011)