Drive

Ok, I must admit that I wasnt quite sure what I was going to see when I started watching this last night. Based on some reviews that I read when it was first released. I will say that I loved it! From its great opening sequence, which is very well shot. Also, the fact that Ryan Gosling's character (The Driver) goes a solid 13 or 14 minutes in the film without speaking a word and yet, you know every bit of emotion that is going through him.
In some ways, I was reminded a lot of the great heist/car chase film with Steve McQueen. I also get the sense that McQueen might have been a model for the character of The Driver. My only issue with the film is that after the opening chase, there isn't another until about 45 minutes in but what a chase it is though. But in that time, we spend time with a lot of different characters including Irene and her little boy, along with The Drivers boss, and some shady characters that we ultimately get see how villainous they can get.
Overall, I really enjoyed every aspect of the film. Even though I felt the tone changed a couple of times in the middle and I as an audience member wasn't quite expecting such a change but it works in the context of the character and what he needs to get through in order to get to the finale. For me, the beginning and the end really struck me as a great car chase/heist film from the 1980's which Im sure in some ways was what the filmmakers were going for. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the book that it is based off of.