Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Russ Tamblyn
OUR RATING: ★★★★☆
Story:
Action crime drama directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Drive (2011) follows mysterious Hollywood stuntman and mechanic known as Driver (Ryan Gosling), who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. He tries to escape his shady past as he falls for his neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). However, when Irene’s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), 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.
Our Favorite Quotes:
'You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that, and you're on your own.' - Driver Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Driver: There’s hundred thousand streets in this city. You don’t need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I’m yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that, and you’re on your own. Do you understand? Good. And you won’t be able to reach me on this phone again.
Shannon: [to Driver] You look like a zombie, kid. You getting any sleep? Can I offer you some Benzedrine, Dexedrine, caffeine, nicotine? Oh, you don’t smoke. That’s right. Better off.
Driver: [to Benicio] Hey, you want to a tooth pick?
Irene: That’s Benicio’s father.
Driver: Where is he?
Irene: He’s in prison.
Driver: Oh.
Irene: What do you do?
Driver: I drive.
Irene: Like a limo driver?
Driver: No, like for movies.
Irene: Oh! You mean all the car chases and stuff?
Driver: Yeah.
Irene: Isn’t that dangerous?
Driver: It’s only part-time. Mostly I work at a garage.
Bernie Rose: What you got that the big professional race teams don’t?
Shannon: I got the driver.
Bernie Rose: You just told me they had half a dozen drivers.
Shannon: Not like this one. This kid is special. I’ve been working with him for a while. I’ve never seen anything like it. If I had the money, I’d back him myself.
Bernie Rose: Yeah, but you don’t have money.
Shannon: Mr. Rose, you put this kid behind a wheel, there’s nothing he can’t do.
Nino: F*** you eating chink food in my f***ing restaurant?
Bernie Rose: What’s a Jew doing running a pizzeria?
Nino: Take a f***ing hike. I want to talk to my partner. I’m just f***ing with you. How you doing, Shannon? How’s the f***ing leg?
Shannon: I paid my debt.
Shannon: Kid, I want you to meet Mr. Bernie Rose.
Bernie Rose: Nice to meet you.
Driver: [as Bernie offers his hand to shake] My hands are a little dirty.
Bernie Rose: So are mine.
Shannon: You two know each other?
Driver: Don’t.
Shannon: Oh. Look at that.
Irene: We’re neighbors.
Shannon: Neighbors? Very good. Well, we’ll try to be neighborly too.
Driver: [as they’re staring at each other] You blinked.
Benicio: What?
Shannon: [referring to Driver] He’s a good guy. You know, he walked in to my shop here about five or six years ago. Right out of the blue, asking for a job. So I put him to the test to see what he could do. The kid’s amazing.
Irene: Yeah.
Shannon: So, I hire him on the spot. Boom! At about half the wages I normally pay. He didn’t blink an eye. Hey, kid, come over here for a second, will you? And I have been exploiting him ever since.
Driver: I don’t have wheels on my car.
Irene: Okay.
Driver: It’s one thing you should know about me.
Irene: Sorry if I put you on the spot showing up like that.
Driver: It’s okay. I’m not doing anything this weekend, if you want to a ride or something.
'Second chances are rare.' - Standard (Drive) Click To Tweet
Nino: [referring to the race car Shannon has fixed up] We paid three hundred f***ing grand for this piece of s**t?
Bernie Rose: I paid for it, out of my own pocket. This is just the shell. It’s the inside that counts, not the outside. Right, Shannon?
Shannon: You are correct, sir.
Nino: F*** that s**t! I paid three hundred for something, I want everybody to f***ing see it.
Bernie Rose: Of course you do.
Shannon: You know what? This car will even make you good looking.
Nino: I’m already good looking, pal.
Bernie Rose: When’s our first race?
Driver: Pretty soon.
Bernie Rose: You going to be ready?
Driver: I hope so.
Bernie Rose: “I hope so.”Hey, no false modesty. I got a lot of money in this.
Bernie Rose: Did Shannon ever tell you how we met?
Driver: No.
Bernie Rose: I used to produce movies, in the eighties. Kind of like action films. Sexy stuff. One critic called them European. I thought they were s**t. Anyway, he arranged all the cars for me. Did all the stunts. I liked him. I liked having him around. Even though he overcharged the s**t out of me. His next business venture, he got involved with some of Nino’s friends. They didn’t go for the overcharging bit. They broke his pelvis. He’s never had a lot of luck. The reason I’m telling you this is that he has a lot invested in you. And so do I. So, anything you need, you call me. We’re a team now. I’m excited!
Driver: [as they’re watching a cartoon] Is he a bad guy?
Benicio: Yeah.
Driver: How can you tell?
Benicio: Because he’s a shark.
Driver: There’s no good sharks?
Benicio: No. I mean, just look at him. Does he look like a good guy to you?
Standard: We’re here celebrating, but it’s a shameful thing what I did. And I have a lot of making up to do to everyone. But second chances are rare. Right? And that’s worth celebrating. Right? So I want to make a toast to that lady right there. Thanks for staying. I love you, Renie.
Irene: [as Driver sees her sitting outside her apartment] Sorry about the noise.
Driver: [jokingly] I was going to call the cops.
Irene: I wish you would.
Bearded Redneck: You’re Shannon’s buddy, right? We met last year. You drove me and my brother back from Palm Springs. We hired another wheelman. I spent six months in jail. My brother, he got himself killed. I got this sweet job coming up.
Driver: How about this? Shut your mouth. Or I’ll kick your teeth down your throat, and I’ll shut it for you.
Driver: [referring to the men that beat him up] Who were they?
Standard: What the f*** are you going to do? You’re going to go beat them up for me? Huh, stunt guy? Why the f*** do you want to know who they are? Huh?
'I just want you to know, getting to be around you was the best thing that ever happened to me.' - Driver Click To Tweet
Standard: They want me to rob a pawn shop in the Valley.
Driver: Why?
Standard: Because I owe them some protection money from when I was inside. It’s two thousand bucks. And as soon as I got out, oh, it’s five thousand bucks. Oh, no. Actually, it’s ten thousand dollars. Twenty thousand dollars! Tomorrow I don’t know what the f*** it’s going to be.
Driver: What are you going to do?
Standard: That’s a really good question. They said they’re going to come after Benicio and Irene next.
Driver: [as Benicio hands him a bullet] What is it you got there? Can I see? One of those men gave you that?
Benicio: They told me not to lose it.
Driver: You want me to keep that for you?
Benicio: Okay.
Standard: Do you want to hear how Mommy and me met?
Benicio: Yeah.
Standard: Yeah? Okay. We were at a party and she was nineteen years-old.
Irene: Seventeen.
Standard: You weren’t seventeen.
Irene: I was.
Standard: Wow. So it was illegal?
Irene: Yeah.
Standard: So I illegally walked over to, uh, seventeen year-old girl. I walk up and I say, “Hello, Miss. What is your name?” And she didn’t say anything. And then I said, “Well, my name is Standard Gabrielle.” Then what did you say?
Irene: I said, “Where is the deluxe version?”
Standard: [to Benicio] She’s good, man. Sharp. Oh, man. It killed me. And then a year later you popped out, man. It was the best day of my life.
Driver: If I drive for you, you get your money. You tell me where we start, where we’re going, where we’re going afterwards. I give you five minutes when we get there. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I’m yours. No matter what. Anything a minute on either side of that, and you’re on your own. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down. I don’t carry a gun. I drive.
Cook: You look like you’re hard to work with.
Driver: Not if we understand each other.
Trailer: