Drive (2011) // dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

The perfect blend of effortless style and ultra-violence. Driving never looked so cool.

A mysterious enigma - mechanic and movie stuntman by day, getaway driver by night - known only as The Driver (Ryan Gosling), helps the husband of neighbour and love-interest Irene (Carey Mulligan) to pay his debts owed to Jewish crime lord, Nino (Ron Perlman), and his associate (Albert Brooks). Predictable and familiar this ain't. Drive is a refreshing, restoration of faith in an age full of remakes and sequels. From the tension filled opening, Drive immediately separates itself from other driving films - favouring intelligence and strategy over an adrenaline fuelled, high-speed chase. But it is the passionate, yet forbidden, love between Gosling and Mulligan that ultimately gives the film its heart, and the deliberate lack of dialogue (Gosling and Mulligan opted out of saying most of their scripted lines) makes it all the more poignant. Although it definitely ups the shock factor in the brutality department, the unexpected and extreme violence never undermines Gosling and Mulligan's ill-fated love story. The iconic lift scene begins with such beauty and tenderness, before culminating into a scene of absolute ferocity and aggression; perfectly epitomising the fundamentals and paradoxes of Drive. Despite the fairly simple storyline, and the minimal character development; the amount of human emotion being manipulated guarantees that Drive is a complex, multidimensional affair. For all Winding Refn's achingly stylish direction, and the thumping 80's sounding electro score; this is ultimately Gosling's film. He is truly incredible as the tenebrous, yet passionate and calm Driver - a far cry from The Notebook's pretty boy persona.

Probably the best, yet most overlooked film of 2011, Gosling shows why he is fast becoming Hollywood's leading man.