Now It Is Your Turn To Clean Up After Me: Drive (2011)

With the exception of Tree of Life, Drive was probably the most hyped 2011 film for me.  I heard an onslaught of positive praise for the film claiming it to be completely unlike anything released last year and reminiscent of some brilliant hidden gem of seventies Italian cinema.   I was somewhat worried that it would be a let down no matter how good the film was, because my expectations were so incredibly high.  However, I fell in love with every bit of the film from the ambient soundtrack to the excellent action scenes, not to mention the stellar cast that made a film about arguably normal people seem otherworldly.  I did not go into the film realizing that the director was Nicolas Winding Refn, who this blog recognized for his work Valhalla Rising, after discovering this it helped to explain the intense pacing and intimate attachment to silent characters.  Drive, like Refn's previous work, is poetically violent, often placing acts of aggression in the center of the frame forcing viewers to fully acknowledge the acts without being able to put up a cinematic wall of distance.  Drive, is an incredibly reflective film that demands viewers engage with the work and question the legitimacy of actions, particularly those that cross the borders of morality and legality.  No character in the film is fully justified in their actions, nor is any character in need of full on reprimanding for their actions.  Drive questions life's gray areas and like a good film provides very few answers.

Drive, follows the appropriately named Driver (Ryan Gosling) who as his name suggests works driving cars.  On the acceptable side of the law, he works as a mechanic and stunt driver for movies, while also providing getaway cars for criminals during the evening.  He works from a law of ethics that make him not questions individuals behaviors while he is working, but he makes it very clear that beyond the five minutes that he provides a getaway that he wants nothing to do with the individuals he is helping.  He seems fine working side jobs for his boss Shannon (Bryan Cranston) and his sketch associates Bernie (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Pearlman) until he runs into his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) who despite having a kid and husband in jail becomes an love interest to driver.  After close involvement with her, it is revealed that her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) will be leaving jail and returning to live with Irene.  Driver's infatuation with Irene causes him to stick around and help the family despite it being very clear that Irene has chosen to stay with Standard.  It is at this point that it becomes clear that Standard has a very shady past and owes large debts to people he encountered while in prison.  Agreeing to help Standard clear his name for the sake of Irene and her son, Driver goes against his strict moral ways and ends up stuck in the middle of a monetary transaction far larger than anything involving Standard or even his boss Shannon.  As a result, he becomes an enemy of Nino whose heartlessness leads him to a rampage of killing, which he uses Bernie to enact.  In a calm rage, Driver proceeds to kill those who interfere with his task, including Nino's henchmen, Nino and by the end of the film Bernie.  Realizing that even after the death of Standard his life with Irene is impossible.  The film closes with Driver alone driving the streets of L.A. lost and in a state of despair.

As I mentioned in the introduction, Drive is a film about moral ambiguity, particularly that of individual desires and their effects on societies functionality.  Driver for a considerable portion of the film is a man who borders the words of criminal and lawful choosing to engage in each action contingent on his own self-advancement.  Despite this lifestyle though, it is clear that Driver is a morally just person, which is evidenced by his relationship with Irene and her son, while it is clear that he possesses strong feeling for her, he also helps in their time of need simply because he understands that it is the right thing.  Even characters like Bernie and Nino have qualities of morally redeeming qualities.  Bernie is clearly an individual who has become so involved with a criminal life that to leave would assure his death.  As such, when he is forced to kill his friend Shannon he does so in a pain free manner, slitting his wrists to assure that he dies quickly and quietly.  While it may seem inhumane, given Bernie's situation it is incredibly cavelier.  Even Nino's actions are justified, he makes note of his disdain for his cousins who dismiss him simply because he is a Jew, often talking down to him, despite Nino being considerably older than anyone else.  Finally, the viewers are supposed to empathize with Standard who clearly became involved in unfortunate crimes, which forever caused him to be a target for mobsters. As such, he, like Bernie, becomes inextricably entrenched within the crime world and his only means of escape is death.  It is a film that focuses on life decisions and their last effects on a person future, implying that in some tragic cases no amount of redemption can assure change.

Drive is a glorious bit of filmmaking.  It was certainly under-appreciated during the awards season and probably under viewed as well.  The bluray is a thing of beauty and without a doubt one of the must own films of 2011.

What I Believe In Is Called The Constitution Of The United States Of America: The Ides Of March (2011)

Sometimes you can tell by a trailer alone that a film will be fantastic, this is certainly the case with The Ides of March.  I am sure that a large constituent of people dismissed this film solely because it was directed by George Clooney or because it was a political film, however, those who instantly disregarded this film are missing out on something special.  The Ides of March is an honest film about the deceitful and theatrical world of political performance and the unforeseen effects such illusions of normalcy have on the private lives of those involved.  It is a film so intertwined with the desires and beliefs of each character shown that is becomes almost impossible to choose a character that you like, or can even tolerate.  It is clear from the onset that we are to side with certain individuals, but even with this information, the viewer cannot help to disdain their involvement in unethical endeavors, even if they are simply doing so to survive in the Darwinian inspired landscape of American politics.  I know those past few sentences seem like incoherent ramblings, yet it is the best I thing I could provide to even begin to explain the intensity of this film.

The film centers mostly on the actions and experiences of Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) a up and coming speech writing prodigy for the democratic governor Mike Morris (George Clooney)  who is seeking the candidacy of president.  Myers is keen at his job as in a major factor in assuring that Morris receives the nod from his party, despite facing tough competition against a senator named Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell).  Assisted by weathered political adviser Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) the Morris campaign is invincible and even has the assistance of the media via New York Times writer Ida (Marissa Tomei).  Everything seems set to work brilliantly, until Myers receives an unusual call from the competing campaigns adviser Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) requesting that they get lunch and discuss things.  Myers is justifiably suspicious but agrees to meet with Duffy regardless.  When he engages in this meeting, he quickly realizes his mistake, as Duffy attempts to recruit him to Pullman's campaign.  Upset and confused Myers leaves the restaurant and decides to take up a dinner invitation from one of the interns for the Morris campaign.  The young girl Myers has dinner with is one Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood) whose father heads the Democratic National Committee.  Regardless of the blatant problems with sleeping with Stearns, Myers decides to pursue a relationship with her because he finds her exceptionally intriguing.  Their romance seems to be probable until they are together and Myers accidentally picks up a call for her from Morris.  Realizing the inherent issues in his discovery Myers demands that Stearns ceases all contact with the governor.  However, this request is not simple given that Stearns has become pregnant as a result of her encounter with Morris.  This all comes in the face of the Morris campaign discovering Myers recent meeting, which leads to his removal from the campaign.  His removal is quickly trivialized when it is discovered that Stearns has overdosed on prescription drugs, one that she received after the realization that her recent abortion was more about Morris's political image than her own comfort.  Myers seizes this opportunity, with some emotional turmoil, and uses his knowledge to regain access to the Morris campaign, in a backroom shadowy scene that is reminiscent to Network.  The film then closes on Myers reengaging in the Morris campaign with a new look in his eyes; one that is a combination of disillusionment and disdain for all that is political.

I mentioned the film being an incredibly personal look at the effects of politics on individuals, which perhaps helps to explain the uncomfortable detachment I felt as a viewer.  It helps truly elucidate the impossibilities of any political figure truly representing the ideals of every individual, because what is relevant to one person may completely illogical or counterintuitive to another.   Take for example the candidates desires to win over the Democratic senator Franklin Thompson's (Jeffery Wright) nod of support.  Both realize that the endorsement of his voters, if only verbal, could be the single factor in influencing the actions of the remaining election.  However, they also realize that in order to gain such support they must be willing to provide a substantial offer in return, in this case cabinet positions.  It may seem as though Thompson's actions are conniving and dishonest, however, the simple fact is that he is concerned with his future in politics, which rest on assuring his place in a political position.  Similarly, Myers reacts to the announcement of Stearns pregnancy with little joy and, in fact, much disdain.   Myers is justified in his concern, because as he notes a politician one can get away with pretty much anything, but sleeping with interns is the obvious exception.  Myers is reacting out of concern for Morris's political image, which inevitably means his future employment.   In an idea situation Myer's would prefer what is best for Stearns, however, politics muck up everything and often have very dire and fatal results.  The film shows how quickly politics concerning the repressed on a large scale disappear simply because each individual has an insurmountable amount of ulterior motives.

The Ides of March is yet another movie from an outstanding year of filmmaking, to call it middle of the road would be true for 2011, yet if it were released in any other year, it would be one of the best movies of the year.  Grab a copy and watch it, it is an intensely real film experience.

Is This You????: Blue Valentine (2010)

Some films are uncomfortable not because they are graphic or insensitive, but instead because they are heartbreaking.  Derek Cianfrance's recent film Blue Valentine is unyielding it is depressing, sober, and tragic imagery.  It is a film that is brutally honest and at no point provides an image of positivity or hopefulness.  Yet the film in its tragedy still provides moments of sheer emotion inducing beauty, as occurs in the ukulele scene. It serves as a spotlight for the uncomfortable truths about fleeting love, lust which leads to both the physical and emotional decay of all those involved.  It exists to poetically question the validity of sacrificial love and if giving oneself to a family ever proves fruitful.

The film in a non-linear fashion follows the building and tumbling of a couples marriage.  The husband Dean (Ryan Gosling) is a semi-employed painter who strives to love his daughter, despite not being her biological father.  He also seeks the affection of his wife Cindy (Michelle Williams) who, as the film makes apparent is growing more and more distance from Dean who she feels is doing nothing with his life.  What makes the situation more tragic, are the flashbacks, which make it brutally apparent that Dean sacrificed his potential to marry Cindy and raise her daughter in a normal family.  Nonetheless, the film ends on a bitter note as Dean leaves Cindy, per her request, accepting that she no longer desires his nurture.  Dean his left to stare in disbelief as the rhythm of children's laughter and fireworks linger in the background.  Fireworks whose brief captivation mirrors the couple's tragic relationship.

This film is undeniably artistic, particularly in its use of color.  The flashbacks shot in grainy soft focus are paired with light blues and reds, while the present is much more dreary often incorporating heavy lighting and browns and blacks causing the couples flaws to come forward in a rather unflattering manner.  Furthermore, the film borrows heavily from both the French New Wave and the American Counter Culture film era.  Through jump cuts and scenes of public intimacy it is obvious that Cianfrance holds the works of Godard and Hopper in high regards.  Yet, as any good piece of artwork does, the film exists as its own unique offering combining skilled handheld cinematography, fine-tuned acting and a banshee-like soundtrack to create a story of loss and self-reflection that is simultaneously ridden with despair and promise.

This is a must see in my opinion, and while I enjoyed it on Blu-ray it is certainly not a must, I would say snag up a DVD version to add to your collection as soon as possible.