Drive
Drive
Drive
Volume 16 Article 18
Issue 1 April 2012
June 2012
Drive
Desirée de Jesus
King's College, London, desiree.de_jesus@kcl.ac.uk
Recommended Citation
Jesus, Desirée de (2012) "Drive," Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 16: Iss. 1, Article 18.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol16/iss1/18
Abstract
This is a film review of Drive (2011), directed by Nicholas Winding Refn.
Nicholas Winding Refn’s latest film, Drive, recontextualizes the traditional superhero
myth as it uses unconventional means to explore the nature of goodness. Part-western, part-film
noir, Drive is a generic hybrid that references the stoic masculinity and repressed compassion of
the gunslinger archetype and the urban alienation, visual style, and moral ambiguity of L.A. film
noir. On one level, this is the story of a heist gone horribly wrong and the extraordinary lengths
taken to contain the consequences. On another level, by subverting generic and stylistic
conventions, this film challenges the traditional understanding of the American hero as champion
Drive’s unnamed, affable protagonist (Ryan Gosling) is a movie stunt car driver who also
works as a car mechanic for a small garage. When we first meet this anti-hero, he operates as a
calculating and efficient getaway driver for a pair of thieves. As he successfully evades capture
by the police, his preternaturally deft driving skills and quick wits suggest that his ability to
handle the car as if it were an extension of his own body is both an extraordinary power and
valuable commodity.
Known as “the Kid” or “Driver” by the small cast of characters who populate the film, he
is a “masked” man of few words with even fewer acquaintances. Playing Alfred Pennyworth to
his Bruce Wayne is Driver’s employer and stunt handler, Shannon (Bryan Cranston), a tragic
figure crippled by his grasping opportunism. Also sharing the screen with Driver are the
unsavory, noir archetypes of: Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), the entrepreneurial mob boss; Nino
(Ron Perlman) Bernie’s sadistic business partner; and Blanche (Christina Hendricks), the double-
Like the cars he chooses for his heist jobs, Driver is a nondescript figure content with the
anonymity offered by his urban environment. Mirroring the relational bankruptcy of his public
persona is his apartment: utterly devoid of the lived history often characterizing a personal space.
As such, he appears to be a man without the past, communal bonds, or moral conscience often
And yet, the development and loss of an unexpected romance between Driver and his
neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) reveals a suppressed longing for connection that transforms this
outsider into an agent of redemption. When Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released
from prison, Nino’s thugs demand Standard’s involvement in a robbery as repayment for his
prison protection. With the safety of Standard’s wife and young son Benicio (Kaden Leos) also
at stake, Driver barters his services as getaway driver to secure their freedom without any
expectation of reward.
During a brief and seemingly insignificant conversation between Driver and Benicio
about the rigid duality of cartoon sharks, the film’s conclusions about the nature of goodness
emerge. According to Benicio, it is possible to identify the good guy in a cartoon just by looking
at him. When considered alongside the film’s recurring use of the song “A Real Hero,” this
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Jesus: Drive
On one hand, Drive’s protagonist is like many traditional comic book heroes in his
utilization of his special abilities to fight crime, protect the helpless, and save the innocent.
Almost the criminals’ polar opposite, Driver demonstrates a willingness to make amends with
those responsible for the botched heist and forgive their offense if they promise to leave Irene
and Benicio alone. In short, he is reluctant to use violence to achieve his objectives. However,
this course of action is something the universe cannot allow. For instead of the rigid dualism of
superhero comics, cowboy westerns, and cartoons, Drive presents a world in which the larger
moral framework necessary to make sense of the human condition is absent. As such, the film’s
title could even refer to the protagonist’s “drive” to make sense of the world and his place within
On the other hand, Driver’s dissimilarity from these traditional figures emerges most
clearly in his willingness to bash in a few heads along the way...literally. Nicholas Winding
Refn’s films are often noted for the director’s generous depiction of stylized violence and
sympathetic figures who could equally be understood as villains. Drive continues within this
tradition, and as such, is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart as there are a number of
scenes that are quite cringe-worthy. It is important to note, however, that Drive’s formal qualities
visually distinguish between two types of violence: the crime bosses’ senseless brutality and
differentiates between violence perpetrated by the good guys and the bad guys, and chooses the
As a good guy transformed by the possibility of a love relationship with Irene, Driver was
able to identify the Good and see it as something worth protecting, regardless of the cost. Drive
symbolically illustrates this cost as Driver’s white Member’s Only jacket becomes progressively
dirtied by blood and gore while killing and maiming the bad guys. More than just a nod to the
film’s setting, Driver’s jacket is reminiscent of the white hat of justice often used to identify the
good guys in cowboy westerns. The film concludes this thematic motif in its final action
sequence, the struggling silhouettes of Driver and his adversary visually evoking the “high noon”
battles of cowboy westerns. As he drives into the distance, wounded but victorious, with the
open road before him, we are certain of one thing: the film casts Driver as a hero. However, the
question of whether Driver’s brand of hero is more like Travis Bickle than Shane is left
unanswered as it extends beyond the boundaries of the film’s exploration of the nature of
goodness.
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