Drive

Oh my goodness me. It's been a long year away from blogging all things cinema - I blame a change of career and new life as an NQT.

So, let's start with one of my favourite films from the past couple of years - Drive.

Killer soundtrack 

Not just because of the ever so lovely, (everyone has a crush - yes, straight men too), Ryan Gosling, and not because of my favourite British actress, the understated Carey Mulligan. No, because it has been one of the few films in recent months which has hung about in my head - always a good sign.

First off its a cracking genre film, starting with that amazing hot pink choice of font which slashes boldly across the opening credits. Perhaps a metaphor for the way the violence in the film suddenly jumps out at you and smacks you across the face. Literally. And wow. I was not expecting that.

The scene in the lift is breath taking, not just for gosling getting those MTV award winning lips out to kiss Carey. No, just because you are not expecting it at all, and you really don't expect the way it continues. Oh right, you're kicking the guy... And now you're kicking in s head, and now his head is mush.... Oh my.

But as genre film it's an interesting metaphor, a kind of modern day fairy tale. Gosling is the hero, kitted out in white shining satin (armour) chasing the princess who needs rescuing. The problem is, The Driver, as he's only ever know, is stuck in a fantasy story of his own, one warped by his day job. I think the driver seems himself as a kind of knight, he's ultimately fighting to protect innocence at any cost. But just like a knight in a fairy tale the reality is warped. There isnt going to be a happyily ever after, as Mulligan's face confirms at ate end of the lift scene. The driver lives in a fantasy and his actions play out to prove this. Why else would he wear the mask to kill the evil Niño?

That scene at the beach stuck in my head for ages. Why does he go to the restaurant and look in the window wearing the mask? Why does he leave the car perched on the top of the cliff with the list shining? Why does he stalk the  dying Niño into the waters? I think because his mind as been lost - he cannot distinguish between what is real and what is a movie and by wearing the mask from his stunt scene, he literally becomes a superhero. He feels invincible. He is removed from his identity. The bad guy dies - the good girl lives - and he's at the centre of the action.

I love the detail of this film too. That statin jacket! What a great touch, like a suit of armour in a fairy tale it shines out thought the dark streets of LA, and like armour, through the film it becomes muddied with the evidence of battle. He never cleans it, it becomes a badge of honour. 

Also I like any director who hires Christina Hendricks to then blow her head up 10 minutes after she appears on screen. It seems like a waste, but then again, that's one point of the film: there's so much violence that we've resorted to treating it casually. 

Blue Valentine

I opted for doomed young love (Blue Valentine) rather than cute one-liners last night (Morning Glory) and I think I'm glad I did. I'm not sure. The pre-Oscars hype suggested I'd be all over this but this tale left me feeling a bit hmmm, thoughtful. Like many good films, I'm not sure I liked it.

The premise is that we watch in real time the demise of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy's (Michelle Williams) young marriage while experiencing flashbacks to happier times when their love first blossomed.

Director Derek Cianfrance’s chose to shoot the real-time scenes with this dull, blue filter which has the effect of washing out the colour, making their world seems as drab and lifeless as their love for each other. Or as one critic said, "as if the celluloid itself has been quietly weeping".

We contrast this with the more vibrant, crisp, clearer flashbacks from happier times before. Of note, are the end credits which have a wonderful firework metaphor - colours of light burst out and reveal happy photos of Dean & Cindy which instantly fade away with the phosphorescent light.

My problem with the film is that Cianfrance took 12 years to make this and, I think, still didn't quite get it right. The contrast should have been more pronounced. Flashbacks, like all memories need to have a slight nostalgic, dream-like, fading and rose-tinted feel - they should be more intense in colour, vague in detail.

Every failed relationship has a longing for the past - a longing where our memories conveniently wipe out the annoying habits, the irritating sayings, the boring hum-drum days and replace it all with perfection, witty conversations and endless excitement.

Dean lives for his 'honeymoon' world. His job at the removal company means he knows the drag of carrying baggage - he's only interested in the purity of love - it's uplifting, light and freeing feeling. So once reality kicks in he struggles to accept Cindy as the girl she really is. One who had huge potential which was taken away in an instant, literally - sperm travels fast. He longs for the pedestal moments, where he visualised perfection, true love at first sight, all the things (he admits) are down to watching too many Hollywood movies. Cindy on the other hand is frustrated with life - she envies Dean's freedom and despises that he is uninterested in it.

While Dean is stuck in the past, Cindy by contrast is routed in the depressing present. Something she's aware of, and seemingly, Dean is not - as shown by his misguided attempt to rekindle their spark with a disastrous night in the (ironically named) Future Room.

The biggest question though is what went wrong? Cianfrance is successful in showing that falling out of love can be as mysterious as falling in love. The ending is suitably vague. Cindy screams for a divorce while Dean throws his wedding ring away, but his immediate regret and her help to locate this symbol suggest they might just be in the eye of the storm. Who knows. It's refreshing to see some genuine, well acted, carefully written drama on the big screen. Hurrah.

I think I'll give it 4 out of 5, even if just for Williams excellent performance (she can REALLY play hurt, defiance and grief well).