In understanding nicolas winding refns drive 2011, the thematic structure of the film itself needs close examination. Ryan gosling, carey mulligan and director nicolas winding refn won critical raves at film festivals. In an industry that is riding high on successes from fanfavorite superhero films, drive presented viewers with a provocative look at a different kind of hero. Moviefones video property is a part of the aol on network. The clip is from very early in the movie, and makes me think. Dec 06, 20 while in marrakech to give a masterclass and participate in a tribute to scandinavian cinema, danish helmer nicolas winding refn sat with journos to discuss his projects and philosophy on filmmaking. Although it built buzz to a deafening crescendo in between its. I ask refn about the fact that he doesnt have a driver s license. It occurs when driver ryan gosling, a quietly contained guy who holds down three jobsauto mechanic, movie stunt driver, and getaway driver forhireis asked by his autoshop boss bryan cranston. I dont think i could describe how much i absolutely adore the opening of drive. Nicolas winding refn talks drive, ryan gosling, and more. A film by nicolas winding refn cannes film festival. N icolas winding refns drive may have a simply propulsive title, but to quote my friend and fellow critic matt lynch, theres an ocean under all the bloody pavement. Driver played by ryan gosling is a get away driver but when he meets.
Tony zhou delivers another quick bite of film education with this video on the interesting framing used by nicholas winding refn in drive. Nicolas winding refn is the latest auteur filmmaker to make the move to television. The film stars ryan gosling as an unnamed hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver. After seeing nicolas winding refns drive, however, one must reevaluate this clear over usage. In the entire film driver speaks only 116 lines, with a total of 891 words. No drive sequel for nicolas winding refn and ryan gosling.
Refn had a very specific vision for the film, which included trancelike music and throwbacks to the aesthetics of films of his childhood. Driver ryan gosling is a stunt driver by day and a getaway driver by night. Drive director nicolas winding refn describes the film as a superhero movie. Roundtable interview with nicolas winding refn on drive. We caught up with the director over the phone while he prepped his next film, only god forgives, in bangkok. What are the core themes of nicolas winding refns film. Every nicolas winding refn film ranked high on films. Nicolas winding refn on drive, ryan goslings jacket, and. Nicolas winding refn is a danish film director, screenwriter and producer. Nicolas winding refn keeps his camera inside the driver s car, much like martin scorsese did with raging bull 1980 and the boxing ring, allowing audiences to feel like they are alongside their respective characters. In his latest film drive, the danishborn director continues to explore themes of masculinity and the nature of violence, pushing the limits of genre filmmaking and perhaps, finally launching him into mainstream recognition. Sep 16, 2011 drive, directed by nicolas winding refn, is about an unnamed virtuoso driver, played by ryan gosling, and his chevy impala getaway car. The screenplay, written by hossein amini, is based on james.
How ryan gosling ended up in drive, according to director. Remember when drive almost made nicolas winding refn. Nicolas winding refn, drive cineplex interview youtube. Drive is a 2011 american action drama film directed by danish filmmaker nicolas winding refn. Following a lowlife drug peddler, frank kim bodnia, over the course of a week.
As arranged by filmmaker and cannes best director winner nicolas winding refn, these are by turns comic and horrifying. May 20, 2016 there was a brief window when it looked like nicolas winding refn was on the brink of becoming hollywoods next big thing. Nicolas winding refn announced last october he was launching a free curated website of films and essays, and now its almost time for that website to. With movies like bronson and valhalla rising, nicolas winding refn has proven himself to be one of the leading auteurs working in film today. Elvis trades in his jumpsuit for a jetpack when he joins a secret government spy program to help.
Cinema scope nicolas winding refn and the search for a. Nicolas winding refn drive is a movie about movies. Another one of the promotional posters ive come across at the 2010 cannes film festival is a promotion onesheet for nicolas winding refns drive starring ryan gosling. The film, which concerns itself around a driver of getaway cars whose name is never mentioned but is referenced as the driver derives its influences from a long list of inspirations. Nicolas is on his way to talk to me about his fancy pants new movie, drive, for which he won the best director award at this years cannes film. Aug 30, 2011 with movies like bronson and valhalla rising, nicolas winding refn has proven himself to be one of the leading auteurs working in film today. Nicolas winding refn dissects his bloody confection the new. Nicolas winding refn on drive, ryan goslings jacket. Writer, director, and producer nicolas winding refn was born in copenhagen. Jan 31, 2015 tony zhou delivers another quick bite of film education with this video on the interesting framing used by nicholas winding refn in drive. Even though the film was snubbed by the academy, refns efforts, along with star ryan gosling, became one of the most celebrated films of 2011.
Drive director nicolas winding refn has described the thriller as his own superhero story the cannes awardwinning film centres on a hollywood stuntman who is a robbery wheelman at night. Youll see what i said, along with his great response, at. Nicolas winding refns drive was one of last years great success stories, that somehow few people seemed to know about. How the cinematography of drive utilized quadrants for. Drive 2011 an online publication about architecture and film. In the middle of nicolas winding refns drive, a film punctuated by extreme flourishes of violence and vengeance, there is a period of peace. Formed by gentle smiles and intimate, silent romance, drive continues to electrify viewers because its stakes are based in unspoken feelings and heavy hearts. Mar 14, 2018 drive explores what drives human beings. Nicolas winding refn dissects his bloody confection the. Refns film, for which he took home the cannes best director prize, brings fresh meaning to the term as it regards to narrative cinema. Dont expect neon demon director nicolas winding refn to.
Heres your first look at a clip from drive, the nicolas winding refn film that stars ryan gosling as a stunt man getaway driver. Understanding driver drive 2011 character analysis. Nicolas winding refn is the danish director of the new film drive, starring ryan gosling and carey mulligan. Drive director nicolas winding refn has described the thriller as his own superhero story. Is it our nature ie who we are or our desires who we want to be. Nicolas winding refn celebrity profile check out the latest nicolas winding refn photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. A hollywood stuntman and getaway driver is lured from his isolated life by a lovely neighbor until her violent husband is released from prison. Ryan gosling is a steve mcqueenstyle knight in tarnished armor in nicolas winding refns drive, a slick urban fairy tale punctuated by shocking bursts of graphic violence, and distinguished by its stylized, yet uncompromisingly classical approach to material that could have easily become cliched and forgettable in the hands of a lesser filmmaker. Remember when drives nicolas winding refn was poised to be hollywoods biggest director. Nicolas winding refn shoots down rumors of a drive sequel. Nicolas winding refn sets amazon crime series too old to. New york quickly became his city and soon began to.
Nicolas winding refn is the first ive ever spoken to who actively solicited negative feedback about his movie. The screenplay, written by hossein amini, is based on james sallis 2005 novel drive. Drive also served as a calling card, changing the way we think about its director, nicolas winding refn, a walking danish id who had, up until then, made just two englishlanguage movies. Cinema scope nicolas winding refn and the search for a real. The level of depth in the film remains fascinating considering how genre pictures of this ilk usually separate emotion and violence, ignoring how one organically affects the other. Sep 20, 2011 if nicolas winding refn set out to make a name for himself with his first film, pusher, he succeeded. The younger refn burst onto the international scene with 1996s pusher, a gritty foray into copenhagens criminal underground. Just before he turned 11, in 1981, he moved to new york with his parents, where he lived out his teen years. While in marrakech to give a masterclass and participate in a tribute to scandinavian cinema, danish helmer nicolas winding refn sat with journos. There is a storied tradition of european filmmakers coming to america and embracing mythic american film genres, be it the western or film noir, from an outsiders point of view.
The switch from good to evil is indicative of grimms fairy tales, which is the switch from pure champagne into. Cineplex sat down to talk to director nicolas winding refn about his new film, drive, starring ryan gosling and carey mulligan. As we were wrapping up our conversation about his new film drive, he pressed me to tell him something i didnt like about it. Jul 05, 2018 nicolas winding refn announced last october he was launching a free curated website of films and essays, and now its almost time for that website to launch. Writer, director, and producer nicolas winding refn was born in copenhagen, denmark, in 1970, to anders refn, a film director and editor, and vibeke winding nee tuxen, a cinematographer. He is known for directing the pusher trilogy 19962005, the fictionalised biographical film bronson 2008, the adventure film valhalla rising 2009, the action drama film drive 2011, the crime film only god forgives 20, the. An interview with nicolas winding refn, the director of drive vice. Asked if he got an itch to drive because of making this film and possibly taking the test again.
Drive director nicolas winding refn puts the brakes on a possible sequel, though ryan goslings character of the driver may appear in a spinoff film. Drive director nicolas winding refn talks film violence. Director nicolas winding refn delivered one of 2011s most talked about films with drive. Two weekends ago, nicolas winding refns glitzy surreal horror film the neon demon opened on 783 screens, and when the weekend was over the boxoffice tally was far scarier than anyth. Drive, directed by nicolas winding refn, is about an unnamed virtuoso driver, played by ryan gosling, and his chevy impala getaway car. May 17, 2011 the husband has a debt to the mafia, the driver has to come in and save the day, and everything goes haywire. Nicolas winding refn says drive was about the purity of. Nicolas winding refn, who won the best director award at this years cannes film festival for drive, took the time to talk to us about the movie, which is set to hit theaters on september 16. Amazon on wednesday handed out a straighttoseries order to a 10episode crime series from the drive director. With ryan gosling, carey mulligan, bryan cranston, albert brooks. In 2008, refn cofounded the copenhagenbased production company space rocket nation.
Drive unscripted ryan gosling, nicolas winding refn. A mysterious hollywood stuntman and mechanic moonlights as a getaway driver and finds himself in trouble when he helps out his neighbor in this action drama. The film starts with a getaway executed by a couple of nonamed robbers and driven away by the driver ryan gosling in a perfectly executed scene of pure tension. There was a brief window when it looked like nicolas winding refn was on the brink of becoming hollywoods next big thing. One of the many pleasures of nicolas winding refns drive 2011 is that the shots feel both tightly composed and weirdly unpredictable. A real hero fills the air as the driver, irene and.
The husband has a debt to the mafia, the driver has to come in and save the day, and everything goes haywire. No drive sequel but the driver character may return in a. No drive sequel but the driver character may return in a spinoff. Nicolas winding refn talks about the possibility of a drive sequel. Slant talked with winding refn about drives inception, its potent juxtaposition of light and dark, and his own burgeoning artistic relationship with ryan gosling. The driver is most attached to his stuntdriving mentor and drivingpimp. Nicolas winding refns 2011 acclaimed film drive has cinemas best, badass and more importantly morally ambiguous character.