Key Moments of Drive

There are three key scenes of the movie Drive that make it a film that matters in 2011, and show that the director, Nicolas Winding Refn, isn't just into making action flicks. For one thing,Drive is not an action flick, and if you went into the theater expecting one because of the first trailer that was released, you probably walked out wondering what the hell you just watched.

I'm not going to waste your time by summarizing the plot for you, because if you want to see this movie, you should see it, and be surprised in all the right places. If you want a plot summary, check out Entertainment Weekly.

The first key scene of this film, takes place about a third of the way in. The main character, whose name we never learn, has been spending time with his neighbor and her son. Her husband has been in jail, and in this scene, he has returned home and they are throwing him a party. The Driver walks out into the hallway to find his friend Irene sitting alone. He knows that her husband is back, yet, while they had been spending time together, it was becoming quite clear that they had feelings for each other, although they had only held hands. The Driver seems like the kind of person who doesn't let personal feelings get in the way of his life. He doesn't speak often. His actions speak for him. The way this scene is shot is quite brilliant. The Driver walks into the hallway and sees Irene. They acknowledge each other. The camera frames Ryan Gosling in the shot with a very clear view of the exit door behind him. This seems to signify that the Driver knows he needs to just get out of there, he needs to cut ties with these people, because her husband is home now, and he should just let it go and move on. This is a pivotal moment in the movie, because he has this chance, and if he just walks away, the entire outcome of his life could have been different. But instead of leaving, instead of walking away, for whatever reason, the Driver chooses to stay and talk to Irene. Because of this, he meets her husband, who walks out into the hall and introduces himself. This meeting will change the Driver's life in monumental ways.

The second scene takes place nearly two thirds into the film. It is one of the best moments I have seen on film in a long time. There is a lot to analyze, because it is a very complex series of events. Lots of bad things have happened. The Driver has come back to the apartment complex to check on Irene. They get into an elevator. There is a third man already in the elevator. They start going down. As they descend, the Driver happens to see a gun under the jacket of the other passenger. He knows that this man is sent to kill them, and he silently moves Irene to stand behind him. Knowing that he may never get another chance, the Driver takes this moment to reveal his true feelings and kisses Irene, while a tear streams down his face. It is obvious that he loves her. He then turns toward the assassin, who goes for his gun. The Driver grabs him, slams his face into the wall, and throws him to the ground, where he starts kicking him in the head. The elevator reaches the bottom and the doors open. Irene backs out of the elevator as she watches the Driver, who is overcome with rage, crush the assassin's skull with his boot heel. As he snaps out of his rage and realizes what she has seen him do, he turns to face her, with a look of anguish on his face, and he sees the look of fear in her eyes, just as the elevator doors close between them. It looks like he starts to reach for her, but it is too late. In this one heartwrenching moment, the Driver revealed his love for Irene, but then he also revealed his true nature to her, that he is a killer, and in doing so, pushed away the only chance they had of ever being able to be together. It is truly a breathtaking scene of cinematic beauty.

The third moment in the film that I think is key is almost toward the end. The Driver makes a telephone call to someone that is a threat to him. At the end of their conversation, he asks him if he has ever heard the story of "the scorpion and the frog." He tells him that his friend did not make it across the river. Just this little section of dialogue reveals one of the main underlying themes of the movie. We never learn the name of the Driver, but we always see him wearing a white jacket that has a scorpion on the back of it. He is the symbolic scorpion of the film. The people he tries to get close to are the frogs. In the fable of the scorpion and the frog, which can be interchanged with the snake and the frog, a scorpion asks a frog to let him ride on his back across the river. The frog says no, because he is afraid of being stung. But the scorpion promises he will not sting the frog, and so the frog agrees. Mid-way across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, and the frog is drowning, he asks "why did you sting me, you said you would not." The scorpion says, "I'm sorry, it is my nature." This relates to the theme of the film in that, the Driver, in becoming involved with Irene, feels like he can change, and he allows himself to get close to her, but in the end, his nature prevents him from finding happiness, in that he ends up hurting the ones he loves, and his only respite is in the violence of his nature.

There are other great elements that make Drive a phenomenal work of art, not the least of which is the performance of Ryan Gosling, who does more with a stare than some actors are capable of when given entire monologues. His character doesn't say much, and yet we always know what he is feeling, and we know just from his squeezing his hand into a fist wrapped in a creaking leather glove, that the shit is getting ready to hit the fan. The violence is visceral and unflinching. The soundtrack is hypnotic, and genre bending, but perfect for the imagery and feel of the film. This is one movie you don't want to miss, and Nicolas Winding Refn is one director who, I can't wait to see what he does next.