After an insanely intense twenty minutes Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive stalls out, relying heavily on character development and the fear of the unknown to accomplish its mission. Occasionally the formula works, but that isn't to say there aren't a slew of faults that lie within the 2011 Cannes Film Festival selection.
Led by Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan an all-star cast converges on this nail-biting adventure that pits a professional driver in the middle of a surprise gang war. Gosling and Mulligan share a strong chemistry, though my mind often drifted to the plotline of Blue Valentine, Goslings last project with a nearly identical looking Michelle Williams.
Albert Brooks and Christina Hendricks are shamefully underused in their respective roles as each garners mere minutes of on-screen attention. The supporting cast is unimpressive after that as the roles become heavily cliche and we receive nothing more than recycled performances from the countless mob films of late.
And for a film titled Drive you'd expect to see more driving. While we do get a fascinating introduction and one mid-sized chase, the high stakes car navigation scene is never fully realized. Maybe my expectations were off, but I expected a little more action behind the wheel. Needless to say the film wasn't bad; though it should be noted that for more than an hour of it I was hardly impressed.
