Drive

Sexy people and cars are the main focus of this film from Nicolas Rinding Refn, heretofore best known for making Bronson. Scripted by Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove), it’s the tale of a nameless getaway artist. Ryan Gosling offers slick machismo and great timing as the eponymous driver; when he makes eyes at his neighbor (Carey Mulligan), and she at him, they hold the camera’s attention in the way it wants to be held. Then come the movie clichés: One Last Job and Heist Gone Wrong, followed by slo-mo gallantry and head-stomping, which allows the movie to continue being ridiculously different. It’s neither all that fast nor especially furious; think of it as romantic ultraviolence for the Henry James crowd.