Movie · 2011 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 1h 40m · R · English
Curator score: 7.9/10 (2.5M ratings)
There are no clean getaways.
Overview
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.9/10
IMDb: 7.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.91/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Nicolas Winding Refn
Production
FilmDistrict, Bold Films, Marc Platt Productions, OddLot Entertainment, Motel Movies, Newbridge Film Capital
Cast
Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Kaden Leos, Jeff Wolfe, James Biberi, Russ Tamblyn, Joe Bucaro III, Tiara Parker, Tim Trella, Jimmy Hart, Tina Huang, Andy San Dimas, John Pyper-Ferguson, Craig Baxley Jr., Kenny Richards
Curator Review
Verdict
A sleek, emotionally restrained crime thriller with bursts of shocking violence, Drive is as much about mood and character as it is about its heist plot. Its synth-heavy style, nocturnal Los Angeles atmosphere, and star-making central performance make it a standout for viewers who like their genre films cool on the surface and volatile underneath.
Best for
fans of stylish neo-noir and crime thrillers
viewers who like slow-burn tension and minimal dialogue
people drawn to synth-driven atmosphere and strong visual design
audiences comfortable with sudden, graphic violence
Skip if
you want fast-paced action throughout
you dislike bleak, detached protagonists
you are sensitive to graphic brutality
you prefer plot-heavy crime stories with lots of exposition
Overview
Drive is a modern neo-noir that understands how to make silence feel dangerous. It builds its world through glances, engine hums, neon reflections, and a soundtrack that turns Los Angeles into a dream of loneliness and menace. The story is simple, but the filmmaking gives every pause and every burst of violence a sharp emotional edge.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the tension between tenderness and savagery. The Driver’s connection to Irene gives the film a fragile human center, while the criminal fallout keeps pulling him back into a world where control is always temporary. The movie is cool, but never empty; its style is doing real dramatic work.
Bottom line
It won’t be for everyone, especially viewers expecting a conventional action thriller. But for anyone who responds to atmosphere, precision, and the uneasy romance of a damaged antihero, it’s one of the defining genre films of its era.
Top Letterboxd reviews
ksenija (3★) · 26246 likes
when ryan gosling said " " , man i felt that
#1 gizmo fan (5★) · 14773 likes
if ryan gosling kissed me like that I would have no problem with him brutally murdering people
andie (5★) · 12362 likes
Do you guys ever wonder how we, as a society, got to and from places before Ryan Gosling invented driving 6 years ago?
#1 gizmo fan (5★) · 8281 likes
i'm not gonna sit here and pretend this hasn't been said before, cause it sure as hell has, but the elevator scene is perfect. i mean. the music, the silence, THE KISS, the fact that it's his goodbye. thank you, nicolas, for that. for everything.
Corey Pierce (1★) · 8153 likes
PAGE 38
DRIVER leaves his apartment to the noise of Desire's "Under Your Spell", which has been nonsensically playing at Standard and Irene's party next door to the zombied joy of their guests. DRIVER looks to their door, to see if perhaps the staff at Pitchfork had robbed the place and left their iTunes playlist behind.
IRENE: Hey
We pause for 4 seconds, as IRENE must calibrate her emptiest gaze in an attempt to convey longing, and match DRIVER's own… more
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A crime story where ordinary people make one bad choice after another and lose control fast.
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A spare, fatalistic crime film where competence, silence, and violence collide.