199 words about Drive

You don't need to know the route

I think a lot about how a woman sued the distributors of the movie Drive because she thought she was going to be watching a F&F-esque jawn starring the Goz and instead got the filmic equivalent of a slow-burn synth jam. I wonder what she thought of the opening getaway drive sequence, pretty much now iconic. Cinephiles talk up this scene and yet the wonder of it is how basic it is. Aside from a few seconds here and there, there are no car stunts. It's a chase constructed out of lucid visual geography, precise editing, the muffled churning of the Chromatics' "Tick of the Clock," and Gosling's eye movements. Every detail is carefully placed to create tension and feel cool. It works: I feel cool as shit when I watch this scene. Los Angeles at night becomes a labyrinth to harbor the forsaken if they've got a guide who knows it intimately, who knows the nooks and rhythms, who can escape the system's searchlights by slipping into the city's bloodstream. You will believe that Gosling's Driver could Uber you out of hell, and you'll never have to say thank you. In fact, some will sue. Forgive them, Father.