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->''"If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I'm yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun... I drive."''
-->-- '''The Driver'''
''Drive'' is a 2011 [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. It's also inspired by the 1978 movie ''Film/TheDriver'' right down to the premise and characters.
Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do it. Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
A sequel to the novel, titled ''Driven'', was published in April 2012. A comic of the same name was published by [=IDW=], chronicling on what happened to the Driver after the events of the movie.
Don't confuse this film with the 1998 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_%281998_film%29 Marc Dacascos film of the same name.]]
'''Character tropes go on to the [[Characters/DriveFilm Characters Sheet]].'''
----
!! The following tropes belong to ''Drive'', no matter what:
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Irene has clearly been re-thinking her marriage to Standard during his prison term, but reaffirms their relationship upon his return.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Some characters' motives are more sympathetic in the film than they were in the novel. In the movie, Standard was pressured into the heist to pay back a prison debt, initially refusing until his family was threatened, and Driver goes along to protect Irene and Benicio as well. In the book, Standard fell right back into old habits straight out of prison and Driver joins him for a cut of the action.
* AnachronicOrder: The entirety of the novel, which can make it initially rather difficult to follow despite the fairly straightforward plot. Screenwriter Hossein Amini noted that this made adapting the novel a very challenging proposition. The film only makes use of it in three scenes.
* AndStarring: Creator/AlbertBrooks as Bernie Rose.
* AnyoneCanDie: By the end of the movie [[spoiler:Standard, Bernie, Nino, Blanche, Shannon, several mooks and possibly the Driver]] are all dead, and that's a movie with fewer than 10 named major or minor characters in it.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Irene gives The Driver one of these after [[spoiler:he offers her the money from the pawn shop job that got Standard killed]].
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: [[spoiler:The Driver, while interrogating Blanche:]]
--> '''Driver''': Now, [[spoiler: you just got a little boy's father killed]], and you almost got us killed. And now, you're lying to me.
* ArtisticLicenseCars:
** An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
** After the pawnshop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
* BackAlleyDoctor: The Driver refers to one. Although greatly cut down from the novel, where "Doc" is a much bigger, more developed character who even gets a scene or two from his own perspective.
* BackstabBackfire: [[spoiler:The Driver attempting to return the money to Bernie, is stabbed badly in the stomach, but the Driver is able to get a stab on him in the heart and come out on top.]]
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: VIOLENTLY averted when [[spoiler:Creator/ChristinaHendricks]]'s character gets her face shot off by a shotgun blast. In [[{{Gorn}} slow motion]], no less!
* TheBigDamnKiss: Occurs between [[spoiler:Driver and Irene]] in an elevator moments after [[spoiler:Driver realizes the two are sharing an elevator with a hitman sent to kill him, essentially making the kiss a goodbye to her, as he realizes that killing the hitman in front of her will show her his true self and inevitably drive her away]].
* BittersweetEnding: In the end, the Driver [[spoiler:has defeated all of the villains and ensured Irene's safety]], but [[spoiler:he drives away without the money, does not get the girl]], and [[spoiler:it's not revealed if he gets treated for his stab wound]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Albeit with shades of BlackAndWhiteMorality here and there. However well-meaning though, the Driver is still a criminal with serious anger issues. And he's pitted against a rogue's gallery of LA mobsters and murderers who are much worse than him.
* BlofeldPloy: Played with. Bernie is piping mad at Nino for trying to pull off a heist, screwing up and potentially getting them both killed by the East Coast mob. To show his dissatisfaction he stabs Cook in the eye with a fork, stabs him repeatedly in the throat with a knife and tells Nino "Now it's your turn to clean up after me." Cook had participated in the heist so he was a loose end to be killed like anyone else involved. It was the manner of his death that was meant to show Nino how pissed off Bernie was.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Blanche]] gets half of her head blown off by a shotgun at close range.
* BoringButPractical:
** Driver's driving style is very precise and lacks the flashiness we might expect from a driving movie. He prefers to play cat-and-mouse games with the cops rather than engaging them in long, high-speed car chases.
** Most of the killings are quick, brutal and done up close. There are no fancy fistfights, knife fights or GunFu.
* BrickJoke: A very dark example. Early on in the film, Bernie and Shannon have agreed on an investment deal for Shannon's plan to have The Driver work as a stock-car driver. Shannon, excited, offers Bernie his hand, but Bernie is still hesitant about the deal and pointedly does not accept. Later on in the film, Bernie shows up in Shannon's garage and talks about how excited he was at the prospect of their deal, and offers Shannon his hand, which Shannon accepts. [[spoiler:Bernie then pulls out a straight razor and slits Shannon's arm from elbow to wrist on the spot, leaving him to bleed to death.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Early on in the film while shooting a stunt for a movie, the Driver has to do a rollover, where another car hits his while he's driving and his car flips his over several times. [[spoiler:He uses the exact same method to knock Nino's car off a cliff.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: A few, namely Nino's resentment of how the ever-unseen East Coast mob treats him.
* CurbStompBattle: The Driver graphically kills a mook in an elevator by stomping his head into paste.
* DamselInDistress: Protecting Irene and her child is the sole reason Driver gets involved in the crime spree of the film.
* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] gets fourth billing in the opening credits and all the trailers, and sixth in the end credits, but is around for all of two scenes with barely any dialogue before [[spoiler:getting shot in the head]].
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Because of his tangling with Bernie and Nino, Driver has to abandon Irene and Benicio, which he warned her would happen.
* DiegeticSwitch: Desire's "Under Your Spell" plays diegetically in the background of Standard's welcome-home party, but shifts to non-diegetic as it cuts between Irene (clearly thinking about Driver) and Driver in his apartment working, tying them together under a unified longing.
** Inverted moments later. Driver exits his apartment after finishing work on a carburetor, and he notices Irene sitting outside her apartment. The narrative music switches to music being played inside Irene's apartment, muffled from being behind a closed door.
* DiesWideOpen: Teased in the end. [[spoiler:Driver drags himself behind the wheel of his car and stares into space without blinking for nearly a minute straight. He finally blinks, however, and drives away]]. This is a callback to an earlier scene where [[spoiler:he has a staring contest with Benicio and claims that the kid blinked first.]]
* DownLADrain: There's some driving down the L.A. river. Since the Driver seems to see himself as a character in a film, this is a direct nod to the trope itself.
* DroneOfDread: Takes over the soundtrack during violent scenes.
* DropTheHammer: The Driver brings along a carpenter's claw hammer and uses it to break a gangster's arms, then threatens to drive a bullet into his skull. The hammer's image has become iconic of the film, and is known for inspiring many fan-made posters to evoke it.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Deconstructed. The Driver has nothing but good intentions for Irene and her kid, but his only skills are driving and a capacity for pitiless violence. His need for heroism leads him to second guess Standard's suspicions about a pawn shop robbery and [[spoiler: Standard is predictably betrayed and killed for it]]. The rest of the movie involves him getting Irene and Benicio out of dangers he helped create.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Bernie jams a fork in Cook's eye moments before killing him.]]
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: The more plot-relevant "Scorpion and the Frog" version is referenced by name by the Driver near the end of the film, which goes along with his scorpion jacket ("carrying" the scorpion symbol around on his back), showing that the parable's moral is not lost on him.
* LeFilmArtistique: A main critique among the film's detractors is that the film leans more towards this at times (especially in the first half) than towards being an action thriller. This was the result of Refn and Gosling's input. It's lampshaded by Bernie:
-->"I used to produce movies. In the eighties. Kind of like action films, sexy stuff. One critic called them European. I thought they were shit."
* TheFilmOfTheBook: A surprisingly faithful adaptation of James Sallis' novel, though with a few major changes and lacking its completely non-chronological order.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early in the film Driver wins a staring contest with the young Benicio. This foreshadows the final scene in which Driver [[spoiler:sits motionless in his car after being stabbed by Bernie; staring for an extremely long time. The audience is unaware if he is alive or not, until he finally blinks.]]
* GainaxEnding: The ending might be this depending on how you interpret it. The final scene is somewhere between the ending of [[spoiler:''Film/BeingThere'']], the [[spoiler: DyingDream]] interpretation of the ending of ''Film/TaxiDriver'' and a surreal-ish ShoutOut to the ending of ''Film/{{Shane}}''. Basically, as the credits roll, [[spoiler:the Driver ''blinks'' after a full minute of corpse-like behavior, proceeds to twist the key and start the engine, and drive off to parts unknown while leaving the money suitcase on the ground next to Bernie's dead body. So, was he dead or not?]]
* GenericEthnicCrimeGang: Subverted - Nino and Bernie are Jewish gangsters, though Nino's front is still a pizzeria, which Bernie mocks him for. Nino later complains [[spoiler:that the true Italian mobsters from the East Coast still call him the anti-Semitic term "kike" and patronize him relentlessly, a source of extreme frustration and insecurity which explains much of his behaviour.]] Though only used once in the film, without explanation, by Bernie, Nino's real name is in fact the much more Jewish "Izzy".
* GenreBusting: On Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the genre is described as "neo-noir arthouse action crime thriller".
* GenreThrowback: To 1980's crime films.
* {{Gorn}}: Many of the deaths are very bloody, especially [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] getting half her head blown off, [[spoiler:the stooge in the elevator]] getting his skull caved in, [[spoiler:Cook]] getting stabbed in the neck three times, and [[spoiler:Shannon]] getting his arm slashed open with a straight razor.
* GoryDiscretionShot: While the film generally averts this, some moments are not shown.
** Played straight with [[spoiler:Cook getting stabbed in the eye]]; the film cuts to a reaction shot of Nino.
** Zig-zagged with [[spoiler:Driver stomping the elevator mook's head to a pulp]]; it generally focuses on [[spoiler:Driver doing the deed]], but there's a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second]] where [[spoiler:we see the pulpy mess his head has been reduced to, obscured by Driver's foot]].
* GutPunch:
** [[spoiler:Blanche]] getting [[YourHeadASplode a face full of buckshot]] sends the movie almost instantly from low key, character-driven romance to a considerably BloodierAndGorier RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Doubly so because the only previous on-screen death had been understated.
** The sudden and deafening gunshots which take down [[spoiler:Standard]] in the previous scene.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Subverted. Nino asks Driver this question and he answers no. Nino's response is, "You're not very good at this, are you?" However, it soon becomes clear that the Driver knows this trope but chose to ignore it because he did not want to get anyone else involved and possibly killed.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Though a rather downplayed case. Still, Bernie and Nino are both brutal thugs, but the Driver may have out-performed them in terms of sheer violence by the end of the film.
* HollywoodCalifornia: Notably showcases both the town's highs and its lows. Despite taking place in and around Hollywood and the Driver being a professional stunt driver for the movies, and while occasionally detouring to film sets, stock car racetracks, sports stadiums and massive LED-rimmed skyscrapers, the film, like its protagonist, mostly focuses on the much less glamorous side of the area, setting itself in cheap apartment complexes and garages.
* {{Homage}}: In two forms:
** The film is a tribute to the more minimalist and existential crime movies of the ‘70s and '80s, by the likes of Walter Hill and Michael Mann. The film particularly echoes the 1978 Creator/WalterHill film, ''Film/TheDriver'', starring Ryan O'Neal, who played a similarly enigmatic and nonverbal driver for criminals. Shades of Michael Mann’s neon nightscapes in ''Film/{{Thief}}'' and John Boorman's daylight noir ''Film/PointBlank'' are also obvious. The eighties-style, pink neon lettering in the credits is a nod to similar credits in ''Film/RiskyBusiness''.
** Simultaneously, the film homages classic Westerns like ''Shane'' and ''Film/TheSearchers'', which gets a HomageShot, complete with flipping the meaning of the original shot, to boot. [[spoiler:The innocent Irene is the one who has the door closed on her, not the criminal Driver.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: In one scene, a curtain rod is used to stab a mook.
* InternalReveal: Irene sees the Driver as a nice, perhaps odd friend. [[spoiler:And then she finds herself stuck in an elevator with him and a mook. If it wasn't clear before, it becomes obvious that the Driver has a violent streak and is as dangerous as the villains of this flick.]]
* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition throughout the film [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]] In reality, the abuse it suffers would have rendered the car totaled, if not undrivable.
* LatexPerfection: Realistically averted. The silicone rubber mask in the film is used for the Driver to resemble the star he's doing the stunts for. It's very high quality and makes him look like the star from a distance but becomes very UncannyValley up-close.
* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: "Nino's Pizza" is a thinly-veiled meeting place for his low-level ring of thugs and mob associates. It's actually played ''doubly'' straight, as it's also a front for Nino's own persona: he's a former Jewish street tough from Brooklyn who's still aspiring to be an Italian mafioso and burdened with mockery and condescension from his East Coast counterparts.
* MetallicarSyndrome: Subverted to the point of comedy. The opening scene shows Ryan Gosling picking up a modified car for use in a heist. He and the mechanic walk past 5 or 6 flashy American muscle cars while the mechanic quips, "Here she is, plain-jane as can be, the most popular car in the state of California, the [modern day] Chevy Impala". Keep in mind that the Impala also used to be a flashy American muscle car back in the day.
* MoodWhiplash: The movie uses a lot of happy music before it switches to very brutal violence. In particular, the elevator scene goes from a very romantic scene to [[spoiler:a mook having his brains stomped into pulp]].
* MookHorrorShow: The Driver stalks [[spoiler:Nino]] after he leaves the pizza place at night, chasing them to the beach at night. The Driver is even wearing a blank face mask from a stunt movie.
* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailers give the impression that the film is a straight car chase thriller similar to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', when it actually features quite a lot of quiet drama scenes sprinkled amongst the bone-crunching violence. One woman even [[http://movies.ign.com/articles/119/1199189p1.html sued]] because she didn't receive a ''The Fast and the Furious'' clone.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Driver is a pragmatic and vicious fighter, killing one man by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing him with a curtain rod]]. Later, [[spoiler:while saying goodbye to his not-girlfriend, he kills a hitman with them in an elevator by literally stomping his head in, going to even further extremes (doubtless his love was also his BerserkButton). She is shown to be visibly (and realistically) freaked out by the killing.]]
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:The Driver gets stabbed in the stomach by Bernie in the end. He is left sitting in his car blanked out until his "Real Hero" theme song begins to play and he remains conscious enough to drive away.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Discussed while the Driver and Benicio watch TV.
-->'''Driver:''' Is he a bad guy?\\
'''Benicio:''' Yeah.\\
'''Driver:''' How can you tell?\\
'''Benicio:''' Because he's a [[ThreateningShark shark]].\\
'''Driver:''' There's no good sharks?\\
'''Benicio:''' No. I mean just look at him. Does he look like a good guy to you?
* OneLastJob: Standard has to pull one due to increasingly threatening {{Loan Shark}}s. [[spoiler:It gets him killed]].
* OrangeBlueContrast: Pretty much every shot. Even if both orange and blue aren't present in one shot together, the scene will likely be set up so that from one angle it's orange, and from another it's blue. Notably, blue/pink is used in a number of the night scenes. Refn explained that the stylized appearance of the film is in part due to his colour-blindness, as he can't see mid-colours.
* OutDamnedSpot:
** Multiple times characters are shown cleaning their hands of grease, blood, etc. When the Driver is reluctant to shake Bernie's hand because his hands are dirty with grease, Bernie quips that his hands are "dirty" too.
** Averted with the Driver's jacket which he never cleans and walks around with in broad daylight even when it's stained in blood. The closest he gets to cleaning it is a quick dip in the ocean when [[spoiler:he murders Nino by drowning him]].
* PaintingTheMedium: [[spoiler:Driver and Irene's BigDamnKiss]] in the elevator is notably accompanied by a darker, {{chiaroscuro}}-esque shift in lighting to emphasize the moment; the lighting also notably shifts back to normal afterwards.
* ThePlan: The events of the second half of the film result from Nino's failed attempt at one of these.
* PrettyLittleHeadshots: [[spoiler:Blanche]]'s death gruesomely averts this-the destruction of [[spoiler:her]] head is shown in exquisite detail.
* PrisonersDilemma: Nino and the Driver would be better off if the Driver gave the money back and promised never to talk about it, and Nino left him alone. Of course Nino can't trust him, and decides it's better to kill him.
* ProductPlacement: Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, the Staples Center and Denny's (Irene works at one). One wonders whether Chevy paid for the inclusion of the Impala, which Shannon calls "plain Jane" and claims that no one will ever notice you driving one because it's the most common car on the road.
* RageBreakingPoint: The elevator scene, where [[spoiler:Driver brutally kills one of Nino's hitmen]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** No "roaring" involved, but [[spoiler:Driver]] goes on one of these, if a slightly more methodical version, after [[spoiler:Standard]] dies.
** Bernie seems to fear that the East Coast mob could go on one of these against him and Nino after Nino's plans go awry.
* RobbingTheMobBank: Standard's pawnshop heist turns up a million dollars in stashed mob money. Oops.
* RuleOfCool: It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense that a getaway driver, working in the kind of profession that depends on anonymity, would wear a white satin jacket with a golden scorpion embroidered on the back. Indeed, at the end of the opening chase sequence the Driver can be seen taking off the jacket and donning a baseball cap so as to look less conspicuous. However, a great way to lose yourself in a crowd is to wear something outrageous with something mundane under it, ditching the outrageousness (which your pursuers will have noted and for which they will be searching) when you need to disappear. Though it's only seen once in the movie, it's not unlikely that this is what the Driver is aiming for throughout.
* ShoutOut: To ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' when Driver wears the rubber mask [[spoiler:as he kills Nino]].
* SlowMotion: Uniquely, the movie mixes actual slow motion with shots that only create the ''illusion'' of slow-motion while actually being filmed at normal speed. This was done by having the actors and camera move very smoothly, sometimes unnaturally quietly and stoically. At least one faux-slow-mo shot occurs in most (all?) scenes featuring the Driver, and they range from the peaceful and intimate (e.g. [[spoiler:the elevator kiss]]) to the high-octane (e.g. [[spoiler:the fight at the motel]]). This has the bonus effect of making the ''actual'' slow-motion shots harder to recognize.
* SoundtrackDissonance: One of the main reasons the movie is popular, really. It cuts from Cliff Martinez's quiet, abstract score or [[UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}} ambient '80s-esque pop music]] to extremely brutal action with a silent background. Also the slow-motion scene of Driver staring into a party Nino and his goons are attending, wearing his creepy stunt mask and contemplating how he's going to kill everyone there, has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg0jOpr1Uhk this]] playing in the background.
* SpiritualSequel: ''Film/ThePlaceBeyondThePines''
** To ''Film/PointBlank''. Hyperviolent detached goon goes on a silent rampage of revenge against aging gangsters in a bright and colorful LA film noir. It's halfway an art film, too, with an ambiguous ending.
** Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found themselves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash. They were also pretty soft-spoken but had an air of understated charisma, and both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend.
** ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' is a video game spiritual sequel, to the point that the director Creator/NicolasWindingRefn is specially thanked in the credits.
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** The film as a whole is one to 70s flicks like ''Film/TheDriver'' and ''Film/TaxiDriver''.
** The use of Riz Ortolani "Oh My Love" during the beach scene, and the artful but brutal nature of the violence is highly evocative of Italian {{giallo}} films of the same period.
** The presence of Laurene Landon (of ''Film/ManiacCop'' fame), the synthesizer score, [[{{squick}} squicky violence]], and the gritty, neon-lit cinematography recall the 1980s exploitation films of directors like William Lustig.
* SunshineNoir: The setting and story are often described as this.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:Standard, Blanche and Shannon]] die suddenly and violently with no warning, although in the cases of [[spoiler:Standard and Shannon]] the circumstances make their deaths unsurprising in .
* TooDumbToLive:
** [[spoiler:Nino]] for his brilliant plan to [[spoiler:try and rob the East Coast mob]] and thinking he could get away with it scot-free, and then doubly so with the way he handles the Driver's attempt to give the money back no-strings-attached. This part in particular is what mirrors the "Frog and the Scorpion" parable. Bernie calls him out on his reckless actions that dig both Bernie and himself down in a deeper hole.
** [[spoiler:Blanche]], whose first instinct after a violent, scary chase where [[spoiler:it's made clear she's been betrayed is to call in with her location]].
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Most of the TV spots and trailers make it abundantly clear that [[spoiler:Standard]] gets killed without actually saying it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX34ShfcsE This]] trailer gives away literally every single plot point in the film in two and a half minutes.
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Used intentionally on the Driver's stunt double mask.
* UnfortunateNames: Shannon is described as a guy who never got a break. Apparently, it started at birth because he's saddled with a traditionally feminine name.
* UnstoppableRage: Under a quiet demeanor Driver seems to have a lot of anger built up. We get a small glimpse of it after Standard comes home but it really explodes in [[spoiler:the elevator scene]] where Driver seems to release decades worth of rage on the mook who comes after him and won't stop [[spoiler:till the guy's head is just a stain on the floor]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: The Driver and Irene share a chaste and almost platonic romance before Standard returns home. The tension is finally broken in a very dreamlike kiss late in the film, which [[spoiler:turns out to be their last]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
** The strippers at Cook's club don't seem particularly fazed by watching their boss get his hand broken with a hammer, the crap royally kicked out of him, and forced to swallow a bullet. One of them even helpfully dials the number for his boss for the Driver.
** The Driver in his bloodstained silver satin jacket never triggers a second glance, but considering he is hanging around movie sets in his blood-stained jacket, this does make some sense.
** The woman at the party at Ninos' pizzeria has the same detached obliviousness to Nino's antics as the strippers.
* VillainBall: The Driver offers to simply give the money back to [[spoiler:Nino]], no strings attached, but he's such a "belligerent asshole" that he refuses and instead tries to have the Driver killed.
** It does seem marginally appropriate considering the "trust no one" type of legitimate business [[spoiler:Nino]] is a part of. Better to kill everyone involved than trust that someone is trustworthy.
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:Standard]] dies with extreme prejudice at approximately the middle of the movie. After that, multiple {{Gut Punch}}es are thrown in. Beware of lighthearted music.
* WhamLine: The Driver's true colors first come out when a former client tries to chat with him about their crime.
-->'''Driver''': How about this: shut your mouth, or I'll kick your teeth down your throat and shut it for you.
* YouHaveFailedMe: After Bernie finds out Cook had failed in the robbery, he brutally stabs him in the neck.
* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:Blanche's]] head gets blown off by a close-range shotgun blast.
----
->''"If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I'm yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun... I drive."''
-->-- '''The Driver'''
''Drive'' is a 2011 [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. It's also inspired by the 1978 movie ''Film/TheDriver'' right down to the premise and characters.
Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do it. Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
A sequel to the novel, titled ''Driven'', was published in April 2012. A comic of the same name was published by [=IDW=], chronicling on what happened to the Driver after the events of the movie.
Don't confuse this film with the 1998 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_%281998_film%29 Marc Dacascos film of the same name.]]
'''Character tropes go on to the [[Characters/DriveFilm Characters Sheet]].'''
----
!! The following tropes belong to ''Drive'', no matter what:
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Irene has clearly been re-thinking her marriage to Standard during his prison term, but reaffirms their relationship upon his return.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Some characters' motives are more sympathetic in the film than they were in the novel. In the movie, Standard was pressured into the heist to pay back a prison debt, initially refusing until his family was threatened, and Driver goes along to protect Irene and Benicio as well. In the book, Standard fell right back into old habits straight out of prison and Driver joins him for a cut of the action.
* AnachronicOrder: The entirety of the novel, which can make it initially rather difficult to follow despite the fairly straightforward plot. Screenwriter Hossein Amini noted that this made adapting the novel a very challenging proposition. The film only makes use of it in three scenes.
* AndStarring: Creator/AlbertBrooks as Bernie Rose.
* AnyoneCanDie: By the end of the movie [[spoiler:Standard, Bernie, Nino, Blanche, Shannon, several mooks and possibly the Driver]] are all dead, and that's a movie with fewer than 10 named major or minor characters in it.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Irene gives The Driver one of these after [[spoiler:he offers her the money from the pawn shop job that got Standard killed]].
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: [[spoiler:The Driver, while interrogating Blanche:]]
--> '''Driver''': Now, [[spoiler: you just got a little boy's father killed]], and you almost got us killed. And now, you're lying to me.
* ArtisticLicenseCars:
** An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
** After the pawnshop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
* BackAlleyDoctor: The Driver refers to one. Although greatly cut down from the novel, where "Doc" is a much bigger, more developed character who even gets a scene or two from his own perspective.
* BackstabBackfire: [[spoiler:The Driver attempting to return the money to Bernie, is stabbed badly in the stomach, but the Driver is able to get a stab on him in the heart and come out on top.]]
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: VIOLENTLY averted when [[spoiler:Creator/ChristinaHendricks]]'s character gets her face shot off by a shotgun blast. In [[{{Gorn}} slow motion]], no less!
* TheBigDamnKiss: Occurs between [[spoiler:Driver and Irene]] in an elevator moments after [[spoiler:Driver realizes the two are sharing an elevator with a hitman sent to kill him, essentially making the kiss a goodbye to her, as he realizes that killing the hitman in front of her will show her his true self and inevitably drive her away]].
* BittersweetEnding: In the end, the Driver [[spoiler:has defeated all of the villains and ensured Irene's safety]], but [[spoiler:he drives away without the money, does not get the girl]], and [[spoiler:it's not revealed if he gets treated for his stab wound]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Albeit with shades of BlackAndWhiteMorality here and there. However well-meaning though, the Driver is still a criminal with serious anger issues. And he's pitted against a rogue's gallery of LA mobsters and murderers who are much worse than him.
* BlofeldPloy: Played with. Bernie is piping mad at Nino for trying to pull off a heist, screwing up and potentially getting them both killed by the East Coast mob. To show his dissatisfaction he stabs Cook in the eye with a fork, stabs him repeatedly in the throat with a knife and tells Nino "Now it's your turn to clean up after me." Cook had participated in the heist so he was a loose end to be killed like anyone else involved. It was the manner of his death that was meant to show Nino how pissed off Bernie was.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Blanche]] gets half of her head blown off by a shotgun at close range.
* BoringButPractical:
** Driver's driving style is very precise and lacks the flashiness we might expect from a driving movie. He prefers to play cat-and-mouse games with the cops rather than engaging them in long, high-speed car chases.
** Most of the killings are quick, brutal and done up close. There are no fancy fistfights, knife fights or GunFu.
* BrickJoke: A very dark example. Early on in the film, Bernie and Shannon have agreed on an investment deal for Shannon's plan to have The Driver work as a stock-car driver. Shannon, excited, offers Bernie his hand, but Bernie is still hesitant about the deal and pointedly does not accept. Later on in the film, Bernie shows up in Shannon's garage and talks about how excited he was at the prospect of their deal, and offers Shannon his hand, which Shannon accepts. [[spoiler:Bernie then pulls out a straight razor and slits Shannon's arm from elbow to wrist on the spot, leaving him to bleed to death.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Early on in the film while shooting a stunt for a movie, the Driver has to do a rollover, where another car hits his while he's driving and his car flips his over several times. [[spoiler:He uses the exact same method to knock Nino's car off a cliff.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: A few, namely Nino's resentment of how the ever-unseen East Coast mob treats him.
* CurbStompBattle: The Driver graphically kills a mook in an elevator by stomping his head into paste.
* DamselInDistress: Protecting Irene and her child is the sole reason Driver gets involved in the crime spree of the film.
* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] gets fourth billing in the opening credits and all the trailers, and sixth in the end credits, but is around for all of two scenes with barely any dialogue before [[spoiler:getting shot in the head]].
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Because of his tangling with Bernie and Nino, Driver has to abandon Irene and Benicio, which he warned her would happen.
* DiegeticSwitch: Desire's "Under Your Spell" plays diegetically in the background of Standard's welcome-home party, but shifts to non-diegetic as it cuts between Irene (clearly thinking about Driver) and Driver in his apartment working, tying them together under a unified longing.
** Inverted moments later. Driver exits his apartment after finishing work on a carburetor, and he notices Irene sitting outside her apartment. The narrative music switches to music being played inside Irene's apartment, muffled from being behind a closed door.
* DiesWideOpen: Teased in the end. [[spoiler:Driver drags himself behind the wheel of his car and stares into space without blinking for nearly a minute straight. He finally blinks, however, and drives away]]. This is a callback to an earlier scene where [[spoiler:he has a staring contest with Benicio and claims that the kid blinked first.]]
* DownLADrain: There's some driving down the L.A. river. Since the Driver seems to see himself as a character in a film, this is a direct nod to the trope itself.
* DroneOfDread: Takes over the soundtrack during violent scenes.
* DropTheHammer: The Driver brings along a carpenter's claw hammer and uses it to break a gangster's arms, then threatens to drive a bullet into his skull. The hammer's image has become iconic of the film, and is known for inspiring many fan-made posters to evoke it.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Deconstructed. The Driver has nothing but good intentions for Irene and her kid, but his only skills are driving and a capacity for pitiless violence. His need for heroism leads him to second guess Standard's suspicions about a pawn shop robbery and [[spoiler: Standard is predictably betrayed and killed for it]]. The rest of the movie involves him getting Irene and Benicio out of dangers he helped create.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Bernie jams a fork in Cook's eye moments before killing him.]]
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: The more plot-relevant "Scorpion and the Frog" version is referenced by name by the Driver near the end of the film, which goes along with his scorpion jacket ("carrying" the scorpion symbol around on his back), showing that the parable's moral is not lost on him.
* LeFilmArtistique: A main critique among the film's detractors is that the film leans more towards this at times (especially in the first half) than towards being an action thriller. This was the result of Refn and Gosling's input. It's lampshaded by Bernie:
-->"I used to produce movies. In the eighties. Kind of like action films, sexy stuff. One critic called them European. I thought they were shit."
* TheFilmOfTheBook: A surprisingly faithful adaptation of James Sallis' novel, though with a few major changes and lacking its completely non-chronological order.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early in the film Driver wins a staring contest with the young Benicio. This foreshadows the final scene in which Driver [[spoiler:sits motionless in his car after being stabbed by Bernie; staring for an extremely long time. The audience is unaware if he is alive or not, until he finally blinks.]]
* GainaxEnding: The ending might be this depending on how you interpret it. The final scene is somewhere between the ending of [[spoiler:''Film/BeingThere'']], the [[spoiler: DyingDream]] interpretation of the ending of ''Film/TaxiDriver'' and a surreal-ish ShoutOut to the ending of ''Film/{{Shane}}''. Basically, as the credits roll, [[spoiler:the Driver ''blinks'' after a full minute of corpse-like behavior, proceeds to twist the key and start the engine, and drive off to parts unknown while leaving the money suitcase on the ground next to Bernie's dead body. So, was he dead or not?]]
* GenericEthnicCrimeGang: Subverted - Nino and Bernie are Jewish gangsters, though Nino's front is still a pizzeria, which Bernie mocks him for. Nino later complains [[spoiler:that the true Italian mobsters from the East Coast still call him the anti-Semitic term "kike" and patronize him relentlessly, a source of extreme frustration and insecurity which explains much of his behaviour.]] Though only used once in the film, without explanation, by Bernie, Nino's real name is in fact the much more Jewish "Izzy".
* GenreBusting: On Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the genre is described as "neo-noir arthouse action crime thriller".
* GenreThrowback: To 1980's crime films.
* {{Gorn}}: Many of the deaths are very bloody, especially [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] getting half her head blown off, [[spoiler:the stooge in the elevator]] getting his skull caved in, [[spoiler:Cook]] getting stabbed in the neck three times, and [[spoiler:Shannon]] getting his arm slashed open with a straight razor.
* GoryDiscretionShot: While the film generally averts this, some moments are not shown.
** Played straight with [[spoiler:Cook getting stabbed in the eye]]; the film cuts to a reaction shot of Nino.
** Zig-zagged with [[spoiler:Driver stomping the elevator mook's head to a pulp]]; it generally focuses on [[spoiler:Driver doing the deed]], but there's a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second]] where [[spoiler:we see the pulpy mess his head has been reduced to, obscured by Driver's foot]].
* GutPunch:
** [[spoiler:Blanche]] getting [[YourHeadASplode a face full of buckshot]] sends the movie almost instantly from low key, character-driven romance to a considerably BloodierAndGorier RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Doubly so because the only previous on-screen death had been understated.
** The sudden and deafening gunshots which take down [[spoiler:Standard]] in the previous scene.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Subverted. Nino asks Driver this question and he answers no. Nino's response is, "You're not very good at this, are you?" However, it soon becomes clear that the Driver knows this trope but chose to ignore it because he did not want to get anyone else involved and possibly killed.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Though a rather downplayed case. Still, Bernie and Nino are both brutal thugs, but the Driver may have out-performed them in terms of sheer violence by the end of the film.
* HollywoodCalifornia: Notably showcases both the town's highs and its lows. Despite taking place in and around Hollywood and the Driver being a professional stunt driver for the movies, and while occasionally detouring to film sets, stock car racetracks, sports stadiums and massive LED-rimmed skyscrapers, the film, like its protagonist, mostly focuses on the much less glamorous side of the area, setting itself in cheap apartment complexes and garages.
* {{Homage}}: In two forms:
** The film is a tribute to the more minimalist and existential crime movies of the ‘70s and '80s, by the likes of Walter Hill and Michael Mann. The film particularly echoes the 1978 Creator/WalterHill film, ''Film/TheDriver'', starring Ryan O'Neal, who played a similarly enigmatic and nonverbal driver for criminals. Shades of Michael Mann’s neon nightscapes in ''Film/{{Thief}}'' and John Boorman's daylight noir ''Film/PointBlank'' are also obvious. The eighties-style, pink neon lettering in the credits is a nod to similar credits in ''Film/RiskyBusiness''.
** Simultaneously, the film homages classic Westerns like ''Shane'' and ''Film/TheSearchers'', which gets a HomageShot, complete with flipping the meaning of the original shot, to boot. [[spoiler:The innocent Irene is the one who has the door closed on her, not the criminal Driver.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: In one scene, a curtain rod is used to stab a mook.
* InternalReveal: Irene sees the Driver as a nice, perhaps odd friend. [[spoiler:And then she finds herself stuck in an elevator with him and a mook. If it wasn't clear before, it becomes obvious that the Driver has a violent streak and is as dangerous as the villains of this flick.]]
* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition throughout the film [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]] In reality, the abuse it suffers would have rendered the car totaled, if not undrivable.
* LatexPerfection: Realistically averted. The silicone rubber mask in the film is used for the Driver to resemble the star he's doing the stunts for. It's very high quality and makes him look like the star from a distance but becomes very UncannyValley up-close.
* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: "Nino's Pizza" is a thinly-veiled meeting place for his low-level ring of thugs and mob associates. It's actually played ''doubly'' straight, as it's also a front for Nino's own persona: he's a former Jewish street tough from Brooklyn who's still aspiring to be an Italian mafioso and burdened with mockery and condescension from his East Coast counterparts.
* MetallicarSyndrome: Subverted to the point of comedy. The opening scene shows Ryan Gosling picking up a modified car for use in a heist. He and the mechanic walk past 5 or 6 flashy American muscle cars while the mechanic quips, "Here she is, plain-jane as can be, the most popular car in the state of California, the [modern day] Chevy Impala". Keep in mind that the Impala also used to be a flashy American muscle car back in the day.
* MoodWhiplash: The movie uses a lot of happy music before it switches to very brutal violence. In particular, the elevator scene goes from a very romantic scene to [[spoiler:a mook having his brains stomped into pulp]].
* MookHorrorShow: The Driver stalks [[spoiler:Nino]] after he leaves the pizza place at night, chasing them to the beach at night. The Driver is even wearing a blank face mask from a stunt movie.
* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailers give the impression that the film is a straight car chase thriller similar to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', when it actually features quite a lot of quiet drama scenes sprinkled amongst the bone-crunching violence. One woman even [[http://movies.ign.com/articles/119/1199189p1.html sued]] because she didn't receive a ''The Fast and the Furious'' clone.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Driver is a pragmatic and vicious fighter, killing one man by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing him with a curtain rod]]. Later, [[spoiler:while saying goodbye to his not-girlfriend, he kills a hitman with them in an elevator by literally stomping his head in, going to even further extremes (doubtless his love was also his BerserkButton). She is shown to be visibly (and realistically) freaked out by the killing.]]
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:The Driver gets stabbed in the stomach by Bernie in the end. He is left sitting in his car blanked out until his "Real Hero" theme song begins to play and he remains conscious enough to drive away.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Discussed while the Driver and Benicio watch TV.
-->'''Driver:''' Is he a bad guy?\\
'''Benicio:''' Yeah.\\
'''Driver:''' How can you tell?\\
'''Benicio:''' Because he's a [[ThreateningShark shark]].\\
'''Driver:''' There's no good sharks?\\
'''Benicio:''' No. I mean just look at him. Does he look like a good guy to you?
* OneLastJob: Standard has to pull one due to increasingly threatening {{Loan Shark}}s. [[spoiler:It gets him killed]].
* OrangeBlueContrast: Pretty much every shot. Even if both orange and blue aren't present in one shot together, the scene will likely be set up so that from one angle it's orange, and from another it's blue. Notably, blue/pink is used in a number of the night scenes. Refn explained that the stylized appearance of the film is in part due to his colour-blindness, as he can't see mid-colours.
* OutDamnedSpot:
** Multiple times characters are shown cleaning their hands of grease, blood, etc. When the Driver is reluctant to shake Bernie's hand because his hands are dirty with grease, Bernie quips that his hands are "dirty" too.
** Averted with the Driver's jacket which he never cleans and walks around with in broad daylight even when it's stained in blood. The closest he gets to cleaning it is a quick dip in the ocean when [[spoiler:he murders Nino by drowning him]].
* PaintingTheMedium: [[spoiler:Driver and Irene's BigDamnKiss]] in the elevator is notably accompanied by a darker, {{chiaroscuro}}-esque shift in lighting to emphasize the moment; the lighting also notably shifts back to normal afterwards.
* ThePlan: The events of the second half of the film result from Nino's failed attempt at one of these.
* PrettyLittleHeadshots: [[spoiler:Blanche]]'s death gruesomely averts this-the destruction of [[spoiler:her]] head is shown in exquisite detail.
* PrisonersDilemma: Nino and the Driver would be better off if the Driver gave the money back and promised never to talk about it, and Nino left him alone. Of course Nino can't trust him, and decides it's better to kill him.
* ProductPlacement: Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, the Staples Center and Denny's (Irene works at one). One wonders whether Chevy paid for the inclusion of the Impala, which Shannon calls "plain Jane" and claims that no one will ever notice you driving one because it's the most common car on the road.
* RageBreakingPoint: The elevator scene, where [[spoiler:Driver brutally kills one of Nino's hitmen]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** No "roaring" involved, but [[spoiler:Driver]] goes on one of these, if a slightly more methodical version, after [[spoiler:Standard]] dies.
** Bernie seems to fear that the East Coast mob could go on one of these against him and Nino after Nino's plans go awry.
* RobbingTheMobBank: Standard's pawnshop heist turns up a million dollars in stashed mob money. Oops.
* RuleOfCool: It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense that a getaway driver, working in the kind of profession that depends on anonymity, would wear a white satin jacket with a golden scorpion embroidered on the back. Indeed, at the end of the opening chase sequence the Driver can be seen taking off the jacket and donning a baseball cap so as to look less conspicuous. However, a great way to lose yourself in a crowd is to wear something outrageous with something mundane under it, ditching the outrageousness (which your pursuers will have noted and for which they will be searching) when you need to disappear. Though it's only seen once in the movie, it's not unlikely that this is what the Driver is aiming for throughout.
* ShoutOut: To ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' when Driver wears the rubber mask [[spoiler:as he kills Nino]].
* SlowMotion: Uniquely, the movie mixes actual slow motion with shots that only create the ''illusion'' of slow-motion while actually being filmed at normal speed. This was done by having the actors and camera move very smoothly, sometimes unnaturally quietly and stoically. At least one faux-slow-mo shot occurs in most (all?) scenes featuring the Driver, and they range from the peaceful and intimate (e.g. [[spoiler:the elevator kiss]]) to the high-octane (e.g. [[spoiler:the fight at the motel]]). This has the bonus effect of making the ''actual'' slow-motion shots harder to recognize.
* SoundtrackDissonance: One of the main reasons the movie is popular, really. It cuts from Cliff Martinez's quiet, abstract score or [[UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}} ambient '80s-esque pop music]] to extremely brutal action with a silent background. Also the slow-motion scene of Driver staring into a party Nino and his goons are attending, wearing his creepy stunt mask and contemplating how he's going to kill everyone there, has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg0jOpr1Uhk this]] playing in the background.
* SpiritualSequel: ''Film/ThePlaceBeyondThePines''
** To ''Film/PointBlank''. Hyperviolent detached goon goes on a silent rampage of revenge against aging gangsters in a bright and colorful LA film noir. It's halfway an art film, too, with an ambiguous ending.
** Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found themselves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash. They were also pretty soft-spoken but had an air of understated charisma, and both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend.
** ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' is a video game spiritual sequel, to the point that the director Creator/NicolasWindingRefn is specially thanked in the credits.
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** The film as a whole is one to 70s flicks like ''Film/TheDriver'' and ''Film/TaxiDriver''.
** The use of Riz Ortolani "Oh My Love" during the beach scene, and the artful but brutal nature of the violence is highly evocative of Italian {{giallo}} films of the same period.
** The presence of Laurene Landon (of ''Film/ManiacCop'' fame), the synthesizer score, [[{{squick}} squicky violence]], and the gritty, neon-lit cinematography recall the 1980s exploitation films of directors like William Lustig.
* SunshineNoir: The setting and story are often described as this.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:Standard, Blanche and Shannon]] die suddenly and violently with no warning, although in the cases of [[spoiler:Standard and Shannon]] the circumstances make their deaths unsurprising in .
* TooDumbToLive:
** [[spoiler:Nino]] for his brilliant plan to [[spoiler:try and rob the East Coast mob]] and thinking he could get away with it scot-free, and then doubly so with the way he handles the Driver's attempt to give the money back no-strings-attached. This part in particular is what mirrors the "Frog and the Scorpion" parable. Bernie calls him out on his reckless actions that dig both Bernie and himself down in a deeper hole.
** [[spoiler:Blanche]], whose first instinct after a violent, scary chase where [[spoiler:it's made clear she's been betrayed is to call in with her location]].
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Most of the TV spots and trailers make it abundantly clear that [[spoiler:Standard]] gets killed without actually saying it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX34ShfcsE This]] trailer gives away literally every single plot point in the film in two and a half minutes.
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Used intentionally on the Driver's stunt double mask.
* UnfortunateNames: Shannon is described as a guy who never got a break. Apparently, it started at birth because he's saddled with a traditionally feminine name.
* UnstoppableRage: Under a quiet demeanor Driver seems to have a lot of anger built up. We get a small glimpse of it after Standard comes home but it really explodes in [[spoiler:the elevator scene]] where Driver seems to release decades worth of rage on the mook who comes after him and won't stop [[spoiler:till the guy's head is just a stain on the floor]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: The Driver and Irene share a chaste and almost platonic romance before Standard returns home. The tension is finally broken in a very dreamlike kiss late in the film, which [[spoiler:turns out to be their last]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
** The strippers at Cook's club don't seem particularly fazed by watching their boss get his hand broken with a hammer, the crap royally kicked out of him, and forced to swallow a bullet. One of them even helpfully dials the number for his boss for the Driver.
** The Driver in his bloodstained silver satin jacket never triggers a second glance, but considering he is hanging around movie sets in his blood-stained jacket, this does make some sense.
** The woman at the party at Ninos' pizzeria has the same detached obliviousness to Nino's antics as the strippers.
* VillainBall: The Driver offers to simply give the money back to [[spoiler:Nino]], no strings attached, but he's such a "belligerent asshole" that he refuses and instead tries to have the Driver killed.
** It does seem marginally appropriate considering the "trust no one" type of legitimate business [[spoiler:Nino]] is a part of. Better to kill everyone involved than trust that someone is trustworthy.
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:Standard]] dies with extreme prejudice at approximately the middle of the movie. After that, multiple {{Gut Punch}}es are thrown in. Beware of lighthearted music.
* WhamLine: The Driver's true colors first come out when a former client tries to chat with him about their crime.
-->'''Driver''': How about this: shut your mouth, or I'll kick your teeth down your throat and shut it for you.
* YouHaveFailedMe: After Bernie finds out Cook had failed in the robbery, he brutally stabs him in the neck.
* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:Blanche's]] head gets blown off by a close-range shotgun blast.
----
to:
->''"If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes, and I'm yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down; I don't carry a gun... I drive."''
-->-- '''The Driver'''
''Drive'' is a 2011 [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. It's also inspired by the 1978 movie ''Film/TheDriver'' right down to the premise and characters.
Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do it. Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
A sequel to the novel, titled ''Driven'', was published in April 2012. A comic of the same name was published by [=IDW=], chronicling on what happened to the Driver after the events of the movie.
Don't confuse this film with the 1998 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_%281998_film%29 Marc Dacascos film of the same name.]]
'''Character tropes go on to the [[Characters/DriveFilm Characters Sheet]].'''
----
!! The following tropes belong to ''Drive'', no matter what:
* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Irene has clearly been re-thinking her marriage to Standard during his prison term, but reaffirms their relationship upon his return.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Some characters' motives are more sympathetic in the film than they were in the novel. In the movie, Standard was pressured into the heist to pay back a prison debt, initially refusing until his family was threatened, and Driver goes along to protect Irene and Benicio as well. In the book, Standard fell right back into old habits straight out of prison and Driver joins him for a cut of the action.
* AnachronicOrder: The entirety of the novel, which can make it initially rather difficult to follow despite the fairly straightforward plot. Screenwriter Hossein Amini noted that this made adapting the novel a very challenging proposition. The film only makes use of it in three scenes.
* AndStarring: Creator/AlbertBrooks as Bernie Rose.
* AnyoneCanDie: By the end of the movie [[spoiler:Standard, Bernie, Nino, Blanche, Shannon, several mooks and possibly the Driver]] are all dead, and that's a movie with fewer than 10 named major or minor characters in it.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Irene gives The Driver one of these after [[spoiler:he offers her the money from the pawn shop job that got Standard killed]].
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: [[spoiler:The Driver, while interrogating Blanche:]]
--> '''Driver''': Now, [[spoiler: you just got a little boy's father killed]], and you almost got us killed. And now, you're lying to me.
* ArtisticLicenseCars:
** An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
** After the pawnshop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
* BackAlleyDoctor: The Driver refers to one. Although greatly cut down from the novel, where "Doc" is a much bigger, more developed character who even gets a scene or two from his own perspective.
* BackstabBackfire: [[spoiler:The Driver attempting to return the money to Bernie, is stabbed badly in the stomach, but the Driver is able to get a stab on him in the heart and come out on top.]]
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: VIOLENTLY averted when [[spoiler:Creator/ChristinaHendricks]]'s character gets her face shot off by a shotgun blast. In [[{{Gorn}} slow motion]], no less!
* TheBigDamnKiss: Occurs between [[spoiler:Driver and Irene]] in an elevator moments after [[spoiler:Driver realizes the two are sharing an elevator with a hitman sent to kill him, essentially making the kiss a goodbye to her, as he realizes that killing the hitman in front of her will show her his true self and inevitably drive her away]].
* BittersweetEnding: In the end, the Driver [[spoiler:has defeated all of the villains and ensured Irene's safety]], but [[spoiler:he drives away without the money, does not get the girl]], and [[spoiler:it's not revealed if he gets treated for his stab wound]].
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Albeit with shades of BlackAndWhiteMorality here and there. However well-meaning though, the Driver is still a criminal with serious anger issues. And he's pitted against a rogue's gallery of LA mobsters and murderers who are much worse than him.
* BlofeldPloy: Played with. Bernie is piping mad at Nino for trying to pull off a heist, screwing up and potentially getting them both killed by the East Coast mob. To show his dissatisfaction he stabs Cook in the eye with a fork, stabs him repeatedly in the throat with a knife and tells Nino "Now it's your turn to clean up after me." Cook had participated in the heist so he was a loose end to be killed like anyone else involved. It was the manner of his death that was meant to show Nino how pissed off Bernie was.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Blanche]] gets half of her head blown off by a shotgun at close range.
* BoringButPractical:
** Driver's driving style is very precise and lacks the flashiness we might expect from a driving movie. He prefers to play cat-and-mouse games with the cops rather than engaging them in long, high-speed car chases.
** Most of the killings are quick, brutal and done up close. There are no fancy fistfights, knife fights or GunFu.
* BrickJoke: A very dark example. Early on in the film, Bernie and Shannon have agreed on an investment deal for Shannon's plan to have The Driver work as a stock-car driver. Shannon, excited, offers Bernie his hand, but Bernie is still hesitant about the deal and pointedly does not accept. Later on in the film, Bernie shows up in Shannon's garage and talks about how excited he was at the prospect of their deal, and offers Shannon his hand, which Shannon accepts. [[spoiler:Bernie then pulls out a straight razor and slits Shannon's arm from elbow to wrist on the spot, leaving him to bleed to death.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Early on in the film while shooting a stunt for a movie, the Driver has to do a rollover, where another car hits his while he's driving and his car flips his over several times. [[spoiler:He uses the exact same method to knock Nino's car off a cliff.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: A few, namely Nino's resentment of how the ever-unseen East Coast mob treats him.
* CurbStompBattle: The Driver graphically kills a mook in an elevator by stomping his head into paste.
* DamselInDistress: Protecting Irene and her child is the sole reason Driver gets involved in the crime spree of the film.
* DeadStarWalking: [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] gets fourth billing in the opening credits and all the trailers, and sixth in the end credits, but is around for all of two scenes with barely any dialogue before [[spoiler:getting shot in the head]].
* DidNotGetTheGirl: Because of his tangling with Bernie and Nino, Driver has to abandon Irene and Benicio, which he warned her would happen.
* DiegeticSwitch: Desire's "Under Your Spell" plays diegetically in the background of Standard's welcome-home party, but shifts to non-diegetic as it cuts between Irene (clearly thinking about Driver) and Driver in his apartment working, tying them together under a unified longing.
** Inverted moments later. Driver exits his apartment after finishing work on a carburetor, and he notices Irene sitting outside her apartment. The narrative music switches to music being played inside Irene's apartment, muffled from being behind a closed door.
* DiesWideOpen: Teased in the end. [[spoiler:Driver drags himself behind the wheel of his car and stares into space without blinking for nearly a minute straight. He finally blinks, however, and drives away]]. This is a callback to an earlier scene where [[spoiler:he has a staring contest with Benicio and claims that the kid blinked first.]]
* DownLADrain: There's some driving down the L.A. river. Since the Driver seems to see himself as a character in a film, this is a direct nod to the trope itself.
* DroneOfDread: Takes over the soundtrack during violent scenes.
* DropTheHammer: The Driver brings along a carpenter's claw hammer and uses it to break a gangster's arms, then threatens to drive a bullet into his skull. The hammer's image has become iconic of the film, and is known for inspiring many fan-made posters to evoke it.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Deconstructed. The Driver has nothing but good intentions for Irene and her kid, but his only skills are driving and a capacity for pitiless violence. His need for heroism leads him to second guess Standard's suspicions about a pawn shop robbery and [[spoiler: Standard is predictably betrayed and killed for it]]. The rest of the movie involves him getting Irene and Benicio out of dangers he helped create.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Bernie jams a fork in Cook's eye moments before killing him.]]
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: The more plot-relevant "Scorpion and the Frog" version is referenced by name by the Driver near the end of the film, which goes along with his scorpion jacket ("carrying" the scorpion symbol around on his back), showing that the parable's moral is not lost on him.
* LeFilmArtistique: A main critique among the film's detractors is that the film leans more towards this at times (especially in the first half) than towards being an action thriller. This was the result of Refn and Gosling's input. It's lampshaded by Bernie:
-->"I used to produce movies. In the eighties. Kind of like action films, sexy stuff. One critic called them European. I thought they were shit."
* TheFilmOfTheBook: A surprisingly faithful adaptation of James Sallis' novel, though with a few major changes and lacking its completely non-chronological order.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early in the film Driver wins a staring contest with the young Benicio. This foreshadows the final scene in which Driver [[spoiler:sits motionless in his car after being stabbed by Bernie; staring for an extremely long time. The audience is unaware if he is alive or not, until he finally blinks.]]
* GainaxEnding: The ending might be this depending on how you interpret it. The final scene is somewhere between the ending of [[spoiler:''Film/BeingThere'']], the [[spoiler: DyingDream]] interpretation of the ending of ''Film/TaxiDriver'' and a surreal-ish ShoutOut to the ending of ''Film/{{Shane}}''. Basically, as the credits roll, [[spoiler:the Driver ''blinks'' after a full minute of corpse-like behavior, proceeds to twist the key and start the engine, and drive off to parts unknown while leaving the money suitcase on the ground next to Bernie's dead body. So, was he dead or not?]]
* GenericEthnicCrimeGang: Subverted - Nino and Bernie are Jewish gangsters, though Nino's front is still a pizzeria, which Bernie mocks him for. Nino later complains [[spoiler:that the true Italian mobsters from the East Coast still call him the anti-Semitic term "kike" and patronize him relentlessly, a source of extreme frustration and insecurity which explains much of his behaviour.]] Though only used once in the film, without explanation, by Bernie, Nino's real name is in fact the much more Jewish "Izzy".
* GenreBusting: On Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the genre is described as "neo-noir arthouse action crime thriller".
* GenreThrowback: To 1980's crime films.
* {{Gorn}}: Many of the deaths are very bloody, especially [[spoiler:Christina Hendricks]] getting half her head blown off, [[spoiler:the stooge in the elevator]] getting his skull caved in, [[spoiler:Cook]] getting stabbed in the neck three times, and [[spoiler:Shannon]] getting his arm slashed open with a straight razor.
* GoryDiscretionShot: While the film generally averts this, some moments are not shown.
** Played straight with [[spoiler:Cook getting stabbed in the eye]]; the film cuts to a reaction shot of Nino.
** Zig-zagged with [[spoiler:Driver stomping the elevator mook's head to a pulp]]; it generally focuses on [[spoiler:Driver doing the deed]], but there's a [[FreezeFrameBonus split-second]] where [[spoiler:we see the pulpy mess his head has been reduced to, obscured by Driver's foot]].
* GutPunch:
** [[spoiler:Blanche]] getting [[YourHeadASplode a face full of buckshot]] sends the movie almost instantly from low key, character-driven romance to a considerably BloodierAndGorier RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Doubly so because the only previous on-screen death had been understated.
** The sudden and deafening gunshots which take down [[spoiler:Standard]] in the previous scene.
* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Subverted. Nino asks Driver this question and he answers no. Nino's response is, "You're not very good at this, are you?" However, it soon becomes clear that the Driver knows this trope but chose to ignore it because he did not want to get anyone else involved and possibly killed.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Though a rather downplayed case. Still, Bernie and Nino are both brutal thugs, but the Driver may have out-performed them in terms of sheer violence by the end of the film.
* HollywoodCalifornia: Notably showcases both the town's highs and its lows. Despite taking place in and around Hollywood and the Driver being a professional stunt driver for the movies, and while occasionally detouring to film sets, stock car racetracks, sports stadiums and massive LED-rimmed skyscrapers, the film, like its protagonist, mostly focuses on the much less glamorous side of the area, setting itself in cheap apartment complexes and garages.
* {{Homage}}: In two forms:
** The film is a tribute to the more minimalist and existential crime movies of the ‘70s and '80s, by the likes of Walter Hill and Michael Mann. The film particularly echoes the 1978 Creator/WalterHill film, ''Film/TheDriver'', starring Ryan O'Neal, who played a similarly enigmatic and nonverbal driver for criminals. Shades of Michael Mann’s neon nightscapes in ''Film/{{Thief}}'' and John Boorman's daylight noir ''Film/PointBlank'' are also obvious. The eighties-style, pink neon lettering in the credits is a nod to similar credits in ''Film/RiskyBusiness''.
** Simultaneously, the film homages classic Westerns like ''Shane'' and ''Film/TheSearchers'', which gets a HomageShot, complete with flipping the meaning of the original shot, to boot. [[spoiler:The innocent Irene is the one who has the door closed on her, not the criminal Driver.]]
* ImprovisedWeapon: In one scene, a curtain rod is used to stab a mook.
* InternalReveal: Irene sees the Driver as a nice, perhaps odd friend. [[spoiler:And then she finds herself stuck in an elevator with him and a mook. If it wasn't clear before, it becomes obvious that the Driver has a violent streak and is as dangerous as the villains of this flick.]]
* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition throughout the film [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]] In reality, the abuse it suffers would have rendered the car totaled, if not undrivable.
* LatexPerfection: Realistically averted. The silicone rubber mask in the film is used for the Driver to resemble the star he's doing the stunts for. It's very high quality and makes him look like the star from a distance but becomes very UncannyValley up-close.
* LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub: "Nino's Pizza" is a thinly-veiled meeting place for his low-level ring of thugs and mob associates. It's actually played ''doubly'' straight, as it's also a front for Nino's own persona: he's a former Jewish street tough from Brooklyn who's still aspiring to be an Italian mafioso and burdened with mockery and condescension from his East Coast counterparts.
* MetallicarSyndrome: Subverted to the point of comedy. The opening scene shows Ryan Gosling picking up a modified car for use in a heist. He and the mechanic walk past 5 or 6 flashy American muscle cars while the mechanic quips, "Here she is, plain-jane as can be, the most popular car in the state of California, the [modern day] Chevy Impala". Keep in mind that the Impala also used to be a flashy American muscle car back in the day.
* MoodWhiplash: The movie uses a lot of happy music before it switches to very brutal violence. In particular, the elevator scene goes from a very romantic scene to [[spoiler:a mook having his brains stomped into pulp]].
* MookHorrorShow: The Driver stalks [[spoiler:Nino]] after he leaves the pizza place at night, chasing them to the beach at night. The Driver is even wearing a blank face mask from a stunt movie.
* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailers give the impression that the film is a straight car chase thriller similar to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', when it actually features quite a lot of quiet drama scenes sprinkled amongst the bone-crunching violence. One woman even [[http://movies.ign.com/articles/119/1199189p1.html sued]] because she didn't receive a ''The Fast and the Furious'' clone.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Driver is a pragmatic and vicious fighter, killing one man by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing him with a curtain rod]]. Later, [[spoiler:while saying goodbye to his not-girlfriend, he kills a hitman with them in an elevator by literally stomping his head in, going to even further extremes (doubtless his love was also his BerserkButton). She is shown to be visibly (and realistically) freaked out by the killing.]]
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:The Driver gets stabbed in the stomach by Bernie in the end. He is left sitting in his car blanked out until his "Real Hero" theme song begins to play and he remains conscious enough to drive away.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Discussed while the Driver and Benicio watch TV.
-->'''Driver:''' Is he a bad guy?\\
'''Benicio:''' Yeah.\\
'''Driver:''' How can you tell?\\
'''Benicio:''' Because he's a [[ThreateningShark shark]].\\
'''Driver:''' There's no good sharks?\\
'''Benicio:''' No. I mean just look at him. Does he look like a good guy to you?
* OneLastJob: Standard has to pull one due to increasingly threatening {{Loan Shark}}s. [[spoiler:It gets him killed]].
* OrangeBlueContrast: Pretty much every shot. Even if both orange and blue aren't present in one shot together, the scene will likely be set up so that from one angle it's orange, and from another it's blue. Notably, blue/pink is used in a number of the night scenes. Refn explained that the stylized appearance of the film is in part due to his colour-blindness, as he can't see mid-colours.
* OutDamnedSpot:
** Multiple times characters are shown cleaning their hands of grease, blood, etc. When the Driver is reluctant to shake Bernie's hand because his hands are dirty with grease, Bernie quips that his hands are "dirty" too.
** Averted with the Driver's jacket which he never cleans and walks around with in broad daylight even when it's stained in blood. The closest he gets to cleaning it is a quick dip in the ocean when [[spoiler:he murders Nino by drowning him]].
* PaintingTheMedium: [[spoiler:Driver and Irene's BigDamnKiss]] in the elevator is notably accompanied by a darker, {{chiaroscuro}}-esque shift in lighting to emphasize the moment; the lighting also notably shifts back to normal afterwards.
* ThePlan: The events of the second half of the film result from Nino's failed attempt at one of these.
* PrettyLittleHeadshots: [[spoiler:Blanche]]'s death gruesomely averts this-the destruction of [[spoiler:her]] head is shown in exquisite detail.
* PrisonersDilemma: Nino and the Driver would be better off if the Driver gave the money back and promised never to talk about it, and Nino left him alone. Of course Nino can't trust him, and decides it's better to kill him.
* ProductPlacement: Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, the Staples Center and Denny's (Irene works at one). One wonders whether Chevy paid for the inclusion of the Impala, which Shannon calls "plain Jane" and claims that no one will ever notice you driving one because it's the most common car on the road.
* RageBreakingPoint: The elevator scene, where [[spoiler:Driver brutally kills one of Nino's hitmen]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** No "roaring" involved, but [[spoiler:Driver]] goes on one of these, if a slightly more methodical version, after [[spoiler:Standard]] dies.
** Bernie seems to fear that the East Coast mob could go on one of these against him and Nino after Nino's plans go awry.
* RobbingTheMobBank: Standard's pawnshop heist turns up a million dollars in stashed mob money. Oops.
* RuleOfCool: It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense that a getaway driver, working in the kind of profession that depends on anonymity, would wear a white satin jacket with a golden scorpion embroidered on the back. Indeed, at the end of the opening chase sequence the Driver can be seen taking off the jacket and donning a baseball cap so as to look less conspicuous. However, a great way to lose yourself in a crowd is to wear something outrageous with something mundane under it, ditching the outrageousness (which your pursuers will have noted and for which they will be searching) when you need to disappear. Though it's only seen once in the movie, it's not unlikely that this is what the Driver is aiming for throughout.
* ShoutOut: To ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' when Driver wears the rubber mask [[spoiler:as he kills Nino]].
* SlowMotion: Uniquely, the movie mixes actual slow motion with shots that only create the ''illusion'' of slow-motion while actually being filmed at normal speed. This was done by having the actors and camera move very smoothly, sometimes unnaturally quietly and stoically. At least one faux-slow-mo shot occurs in most (all?) scenes featuring the Driver, and they range from the peaceful and intimate (e.g. [[spoiler:the elevator kiss]]) to the high-octane (e.g. [[spoiler:the fight at the motel]]). This has the bonus effect of making the ''actual'' slow-motion shots harder to recognize.
* SoundtrackDissonance: One of the main reasons the movie is popular, really. It cuts from Cliff Martinez's quiet, abstract score or [[UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}} ambient '80s-esque pop music]] to extremely brutal action with a silent background. Also the slow-motion scene of Driver staring into a party Nino and his goons are attending, wearing his creepy stunt mask and contemplating how he's going to kill everyone there, has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg0jOpr1Uhk this]] playing in the background.
* SpiritualSequel: ''Film/ThePlaceBeyondThePines''
** To ''Film/PointBlank''. Hyperviolent detached goon goes on a silent rampage of revenge against aging gangsters in a bright and colorful LA film noir. It's halfway an art film, too, with an ambiguous ending.
** Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found themselves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash. They were also pretty soft-spoken but had an air of understated charisma, and both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend.
** ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' is a video game spiritual sequel, to the point that the director Creator/NicolasWindingRefn is specially thanked in the credits.
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** The film as a whole is one to 70s flicks like ''Film/TheDriver'' and ''Film/TaxiDriver''.
** The use of Riz Ortolani "Oh My Love" during the beach scene, and the artful but brutal nature of the violence is highly evocative of Italian {{giallo}} films of the same period.
** The presence of Laurene Landon (of ''Film/ManiacCop'' fame), the synthesizer score, [[{{squick}} squicky violence]], and the gritty, neon-lit cinematography recall the 1980s exploitation films of directors like William Lustig.
* SunshineNoir: The setting and story are often described as this.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:Standard, Blanche and Shannon]] die suddenly and violently with no warning, although in the cases of [[spoiler:Standard and Shannon]] the circumstances make their deaths unsurprising in .
* TooDumbToLive:
** [[spoiler:Nino]] for his brilliant plan to [[spoiler:try and rob the East Coast mob]] and thinking he could get away with it scot-free, and then doubly so with the way he handles the Driver's attempt to give the money back no-strings-attached. This part in particular is what mirrors the "Frog and the Scorpion" parable. Bernie calls him out on his reckless actions that dig both Bernie and himself down in a deeper hole.
** [[spoiler:Blanche]], whose first instinct after a violent, scary chase where [[spoiler:it's made clear she's been betrayed is to call in with her location]].
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Most of the TV spots and trailers make it abundantly clear that [[spoiler:Standard]] gets killed without actually saying it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX34ShfcsE This]] trailer gives away literally every single plot point in the film in two and a half minutes.
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Used intentionally on the Driver's stunt double mask.
* UnfortunateNames: Shannon is described as a guy who never got a break. Apparently, it started at birth because he's saddled with a traditionally feminine name.
* UnstoppableRage: Under a quiet demeanor Driver seems to have a lot of anger built up. We get a small glimpse of it after Standard comes home but it really explodes in [[spoiler:the elevator scene]] where Driver seems to release decades worth of rage on the mook who comes after him and won't stop [[spoiler:till the guy's head is just a stain on the floor]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: The Driver and Irene share a chaste and almost platonic romance before Standard returns home. The tension is finally broken in a very dreamlike kiss late in the film, which [[spoiler:turns out to be their last]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
** The strippers at Cook's club don't seem particularly fazed by watching their boss get his hand broken with a hammer, the crap royally kicked out of him, and forced to swallow a bullet. One of them even helpfully dials the number for his boss for the Driver.
** The Driver in his bloodstained silver satin jacket never triggers a second glance, but considering he is hanging around movie sets in his blood-stained jacket, this does make some sense.
** The woman at the party at Ninos' pizzeria has the same detached obliviousness to Nino's antics as the strippers.
* VillainBall: The Driver offers to simply give the money back to [[spoiler:Nino]], no strings attached, but he's such a "belligerent asshole" that he refuses and instead tries to have the Driver killed.
** It does seem marginally appropriate considering the "trust no one" type of legitimate business [[spoiler:Nino]] is a part of. Better to kill everyone involved than trust that someone is trustworthy.
* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:Standard]] dies with extreme prejudice at approximately the middle of the movie. After that, multiple {{Gut Punch}}es are thrown in. Beware of lighthearted music.
* WhamLine: The Driver's true colors first come out when a former client tries to chat with him about their crime.
-->'''Driver''': How about this: shut your mouth, or I'll kick your teeth down your throat and shut it for you.
* YouHaveFailedMe: After Bernie finds out Cook had failed in the robbery, he brutally stabs him in the neck.
* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:Blanche's]] head gets blown off by a close-range shotgun blast.
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* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumbled like a soda can.]]
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* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]]
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* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition throughout the film [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]]]] In reality, the abuse it suffers would have rendered the car totaled, if not undrivable.
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* ArtisticLicenseCars: An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
* The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumpled like a soda can.]]
** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
* The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumpled like a soda can.]]
** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
to:
* ArtisticLicenseCars: ArtisticLicenseCars:
** An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
* The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumpled like a soda can.]]
** After the pawn shop pawnshop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's meant for quick movement and not high speed.
** An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumbled like a soda can.]]
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* RobbingTheMobBank: Standard's pawn shop heist turns up a million dollars in stashed mob money. Oops.
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* RobbingTheMobBank: Standard's pawn shop pawnshop heist turns up a million dollars in stashed mob money. Oops.
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** [[spoiler:Nino]] for his brilliant plan to [[spoiler:try and rob the East Coast mob]] and thinking he could get away with it scot free, and then doubly so with the way he handles the Driver's attempt to give the money back no-strings-attached. This part in particular is what mirrors the "Frog and the Scorpion" parable. Bernie calls him out on his reckless actions that dig both Bernie and himself down in a deeper hole.
to:
** [[spoiler:Nino]] for his brilliant plan to [[spoiler:try and rob the East Coast mob]] and thinking he could get away with it scot free, scot-free, and then doubly so with the way he handles the Driver's attempt to give the money back no-strings-attached. This part in particular is what mirrors the "Frog and the Scorpion" parable. Bernie calls him out on his reckless actions that dig both Bernie and himself down in a deeper hole.
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** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's not meant for quick movement and not high speed.
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* The Driver's 70's Malibu [[spoiler: is able to survive ramming Nino's Town Car off a cliff with no damage whatsoever. In reality, it would have crumpled like a soda can.]]
** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it'snot meant for quick movement and not high speed.
** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's
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* InvincibleClassicCar: The Driver's 1973 Malibu stays in perfect condition [[spoiler: even after ramming Nino's Lincoln hard enough to collapse the passenger side door.]]
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* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Driver is a pragmatic and vicious fighter, killing one man by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing him with a curtain rod]]. Later, [[spoiler:while saying goodbye to his not-girlfriend, he kills a hitman with them in an elevator, going to even further extremes (doubtless his love was also his BerserkButton). She is shown to be visibly freaked out by the killing.]]
to:
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The Driver is a pragmatic and vicious fighter, killing one man by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbing him with a curtain rod]]. Later, [[spoiler:while saying goodbye to his not-girlfriend, he kills a hitman with them in an elevator, elevator by literally stomping his head in, going to even further extremes (doubtless his love was also his BerserkButton). She is shown to be visibly (and realistically) freaked out by the killing.]]
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** After the pawn shop job, the Driver is able to go improbably fast in a Mustang in reverse. The reverse gear in all cars is very short, meaning it's not meant for quick movement and not high speed.
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* ArtisticLicenseCars: An amateur asphalt oval racing car like what Shannon buys would not cost $300k. Either Shannon got seriously ripped off or he's got lots of upgrades in that car. A used NASCAR chassis can easily be found for a fifth of what Shannon paid.
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[[caption-width-right:320:''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ...I drive.]]'']]
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''Drive'' is a 2011 [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. It's also inspired by the 1978 movie ''Film/TheDriver'' right down to the premise and characters. Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do it.
Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do it.
Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
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''Drive'' is a 2011 [[FilmNoir Neo Noir]] crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. It's also inspired by the 1978 movie ''Film/TheDriver'' right down to the premise and characters. characters.
Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to doit.
it. Music/{{Kavinsky}}'s "Nightcall" and College's "A Real Hero", both used for key moments in the film, essentially catapulted synthwave into the mainstream and are still some of the genre's most recognizable songs. Refn would later repeat this stylistic choice for ''Film/TheNeonDemon''.
Creator/RyanGosling plays [[NoNameGiven The Driver]], a stuntman/mechanic in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles who moonlights as a GetawayDriver for robberies. The Driver has isolated and detached himself from just about everyone else in the world, except his boss, Shannon (Creator/BryanCranston), and his young neighbor Irene (Creator/CareyMulligan), whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from TheMafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.
Aside from the minimalist characterization and [[{{Gorn}} brutal violence]] that builds its distinct arthouse style, an integral aspect of ''Drive''[='=]s atmosphere is its music, which consists of artists within the then-nascent [[{{Retraux}} '80s-throwback]] UsefulNotes/{{synthwave}} genre. While it wasn't the only film of its time to incorporate the genre (some point to ''Film/TronLegacy'', which came out a year prior), it's without a doubt the most famous one to do
