The Namibia Economist

Ryan Gosling goes brutal in Drive

Whenever the name Ryan Gosling comes to mind one thinks of romance, his chiselled abs, biceps and triceps and not forgetting that gorgeous smile that makes every woman swoon. However in ‘Drive’ he is not your typical Romeo and is in fact brutal in most of the scenes.
Gosling plays the role of an unnamed getaway driver, mechanic, and stuntman who lives in a low-rent apartment building. He works anonymously and never works for the same people twice to avoid getting caught and only allows them five minutes to do their job.
I think a good movie is one with a damsel in distress, - in comes his neighbour Irene who is played by Carey Mulligan. The two meet in the apartment building’s elevator and become friends. Later he helps her and her son, Benicio when Irene has trouble at a local supermarket.
Trouble comes when Standard who is Irene’s husband comes home from jail. Standard owes protection money to an Albanian gangster by the name of Cook who is linked to mobster Bernie Rose. Gosling’s boss Shannon persuades Rose to buy a stock car for the race after witnessing Gosling’s driving skills. Like any other film with a mobster in it every bad guy is connected to another bad guy Rose is partners with Nino who is a ruthless Jewish mobster that broke Shannon’s pelvic bone when Shannon overcharged him for a job done on one of his cars, leaving Shannon with a limp.
One evening Gosling drives into the apartment building to find Standard bleeding on the ground after being beaten by Cook and his men, Standard then tells Gosling that Cook threatened to go after Irene and Benicio if Standard does not agree to rob a pawn shop.
Gosling agrees to help Standard provided he sticks to the five minute rule and that he never goes back to crime. Everything is planned to detail by Gosling and Blanche, one of Cook’s employees who takes part in the heist. However things do not go as planned when a second getaway car is at the scene. Standard and Blanche manage to rob the pawn shop and Blanche walks away with a bag filled with money and gets into the getaway car with Gosling. A few seconds later Standard comes out and is shot in the head by someone in the shop.
There is a twist in the story as Nino explains that the money stolen from the pawn shop belongs to a Mafia group. To avoid being implicated the two agree to kill everyone with knowledge of their involvement including Cook and Shannon. Pained by Shannon’s death Gosling decides to kill Rose and Nino. Wearing a silicon mask that he uses as a stuntman. He follows Nino and pushes Nino’s car off the road, and later drowns a wounded Nino in the ocean.
This is not your typical Hollywood action and romance blockbuster. Unlike in all his other movies Gosling plays a character with no name, no signs of any personal life, he talks very little and does not show his emotions. To get a different taste of Ryan Gosling one can rent the movie at DVD King video rental shop at the Baines shopping centre in Pionierspark.

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