A Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway driver is lured from his isolated life by a lovely neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son. His newfound peace is shattered, however, when her violent husband is released from prison.
I normally do not care for excessive violent movies but I enjoyed this one. It had elements of some other favorite movies of mine including Kill Bill (2003), Man of Fire (2004), The Mechanic (1972) and The Cooler (2003).
This particular movie reminded me of the movies I saw in the 1980s with my friends. It had a Miami Vice feel. They did use a few music video montages to advance the story. Normally I do not care for this technique but it worked well here.
The trailer above tells the complete story of this movie. Ryan Gosling plays “Driver.” He does not have a name. His character is mysterious. All we know is he is an excellent driver and as the movie goes forward he is good at a few other things too. I like his character as he is a man of his word. He has good intentions.
Unfortunately for our hero his story takes place in seedy Los Angeles. There are elements way beyond his control and we get to see how this mysterious man reacts. It is a quick, fun joy ride.
I am giving this movie 3.6 out of 5 stars. One of the main reasons why I am rating this one high is it is short. It is only one hour forty minutes. If it was in the two hour range I would give it a 3.
My only complaint was the use of Christina Hendricks (aka Joan Holloway on Mad Men). I wish she was given more airtime. Still it was nice to see her and Bryan Cranston (aka Walter White on Breaking Bad) taking a break from my favorite AMC Television Shows.
Click here for the Netflix link in case you would like to add it to your queue.
All the best,
Alan
Alan Zibluk
The Film Movie Critic
http://www.filmmoviecritic.com
E-mail: the@filmmoviecritic.com
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