History Film / Drive

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyler_stout_drive_8926.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ...I drive.]]'']]

* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:Blanche's]] via shotgun. In slow mo, no less.

* TheAce: The Driver effortlessly escapes from a chase from the police in the beginning and Shannon calls him the best driver he's ever seen.
* AffablyEvil: Bernie Rose. [[spoiler:Hell, he genuinely apologizes to Shannon when he slits his wrist and comforts him while as dies, and is visibly shaken with his death afterward. He seems very regretful that all of this violence has to happen.]]

* BadassDriver: "The Driver" is known only as that, so he must be pretty good.
* BadassGrandpa: Bernie Rose is still a scarily capable man at his advanced age.

* BewareTheNiceOnes:The Driver may be soft-spoken, quietly friendly, and loyal, but he can hold his own in a fight, has a serious capacity for violence, and knows a thing or two about getting away from the police.
* BigBadDuumvirate: Bernie and Nino.

* BrokenAce: Despite his skill, Driver is very aware of just how dangerous his job is, not simply because of his role as a getaway driver but knowing how his metaphor of the "frog and the scorpion" relates to his associates.
* BrutalHonesty: Bernie Rose always seems to be giving you the unvarnished truth. [[spoiler:In the end, he promised that the girl was safe, and said outright that he couldn't offer the same to the Driver once they left the restaurant. Sure enough, he stabs him in the parking lot.]]
* ButtMonkey: Blanche, Shannon, Standard.
* ByronicHero: The Driver is a brooding, violent loner who's implied to have a DarkAndTroubledPast.
* CasanovaWannabe: Nino is implied as such by a vulgar retort Shannon makes to Driver about a(n equally vulgar) comment from Nino regarding one of Shannon's cars. Later, at the party at Nino's pizzeria, Driver sees Nino dancing and cutting up in front of a beautiful woman who ignores him, and he leaves without her, looking irritated.

* ChestInsignia: The Driver has a yellow scorpion insignia on the back of his silver jacket, which the camera frequently lingers on. Later, he refers to the fable of the scorpion and the frog, which is about a good-natured frog who carries a scorpion on his back despite knowing full well its predatory nature, and [[spoiler:ends up getting stung for his trouble.]]
* CombatPragmatist: The Driver is neither flashy, nor boisterous when it comes to fighting, but seems to have the uncanny ability to focus all his rage into a sudden violent outburst when facing people who want to harm either him or the ones he loves. In the course of the movie he manages to kill or gruesomely injure people by means of a shower curtain rod, a pump-action shotgun he just snitched from a mook, a claw hammer, a knife, his boots and his bare hands.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: It's not laboured on, but it's hinted that the Driver has one of these. The original novel goes into greater detail.

* DoesntLikeGuns:
** One of Driver's rules. [[spoiler:The only gun he fires the whole film he takes off one of the hitmen sent to kill him.]]
** Bernie seems to be a KnifeNut and is never seen handling a firearm, even when he goes alone to kill someone.

* GetawayDriver: Driver's gig when he's not working as a stunt driver or in Shannon's garage. Shannon sets up the contacts and provides Driver with a car, and he does the rest, under very specific rules.

* GreedyJew: Bernie and Nino are crooked Jewish mobsters and serve as the primary antagonists. Nino's motivation is never receiving respect from the Mafia because he's not Italian.

* HiddenDepths: The Driver, who comes across as a deeply quiet and shy man who has a few minor criminal connections, but is later revealed to have great reserves of anger and darkness within him. His {{Backstory}} was explained in detail in the source novel, but only suggested in the film. Hinted at with both Bernie Rose and Nino; both appear to come off as little more than ruthless and vicious criminals, but Bernie gives the impression at times of a man deeply weary with his life and apparently genuinely eager to set up a stock car racing team with Shannon, while Nino reveals that he's stewing with resentment at never being shown respect by his criminal associates.

* IconicOutfit: Driver's white satin jacket with embroidered gold scorpion on the back, driving gloves, skinny tight black jeans, light colored madison boots, and a [[DropTheHammer hammer]].

* InnocentBystander: The Driver does not involve Irene and avoids telling her specifics that might make her an associate with him. [[spoiler:In the end, after several more murders, he chooses to never see her again.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Nino isn't particularly nice to Shannon, and because he's so difficult to work with he ends up starting the conflict by [[spoiler:calling the robbery on the east cost mob and wanting the Driver killed afterwards.]]
* KnifeNut: Bernie does all of his killings with bladed weapons. He's even got a very nice box of expensive knives and razors that he puts to good use.

* LimitedWardrobe: The Driver takes his satin jacket everywhere, even when it's noticeably stained with blood. He also only ever seems to wear the same denim shirt under it.
* MeaningfulName: Nino is a real Italian name, but in Spanish, it means "child," reflecting both the character's behavior and how he's perceived by his supposed peers.

* MoralityPet: Irene and Benicio are this for the Driver.
* MotorMouth: Unlike the Driver, his partner/mentor Shannon is always making conversation, and later on ends up telling [[spoiler:Bernie about Irene]].
* MysteriousBacker: The Driver. He's clearly one of the good guys, but exactly why he decides to escort Irene and her son is known only to him.

* NoNameGiven: The Driver. The closest to a name we get is Shannon calling him "Kid". The soundtrack refers to him as "Deluxe", which is taken from a pun on Standard's name in the film.
* NotSoStoic: The Driver becomes very angry towards Shannon when he accidentally tells the bad guys about Irene.
* NotWearingTights: The Driver's satin jacket with its scorpion motif is akin to this. In interviews, Ryan Gosling and director Nicholas Winding Refn have both likened the character to a superhero.

* OralFixation: The Driver has a habit of leaving a toothpick hanging out of his mouth, allowing him to look cool while pointedly not smoking tobacco.

* TheQuietOne: Driver is quite reticent, communicating more through his eyes and fleeting smiles than his words. In fact, he speaks fewer than twenty full sentences.
* RaceLift: Irene. In the novel she's a Hispanic woman named Irina. In the film she's played by Carey Mulligan. Ironically, Irene is a valid Hispanic name.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Turns out Standard is this as a husband. He initially gives off dangerous vibes during his return party and sounds a bit patronizing, but it turns out he genuinely loves his son and wife. He reacts very maturely to his realization that a man has been sniffing around his wife during his absence and respectfully gives them space to settle their affairs.
* RetiredMonster: Bernie Rose, according to back story created by the director and Creator/AlbertBrooks.

* SacrificialLamb:
** [[spoiler:Standard]]'s sudden murder marks the film's jump from being a character study with a crime backdrop into becoming a full fledged violent crime movie.
** Shortly after, [[spoiler:Blanche]]'s head getting blown apart with a shotgun [[GutPunch signals that this movie means business]].

* SmugSnake: Nino.
* SociopathicHero: The Driver shows signs of this later on, but ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] it. He may have brutally violent tendencies but by the end of the film, is firmly motivated by good will.

* TheStoic: Driver. Ticking him off results in a very small change in his overall manner. [[spoiler:Destroying a man's face by repeatedly kicking him]] and then walking away like nothing happened qualifies for this trope. The only thing that makes him seriously lose his cool is finding out that [[spoiler:Shannon told Bernie about Irene]].

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Bernie and Nino.

* TranquilFury: The Driver never raises his voice, even when he's breaking your hands or threatening to kick your teeth down your throat.

* WouldHitAGirl: The Driver, if you're lying to him. [[spoiler:Blanche]] gets first-hand experience.
-->And now you're lying to me. So how about this? From now on, every word out of your mouth is the truth. Or I'm going to hurt you.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Paired with DamselInDistress, this trope explains why Driver gets involved in Standard's robbery scheme in the first place, to protect Irene's boy who was given a bullet by the mook who beat up Standard. In effect, the desire to protect Irene & her child is what drives Driver throughout the film.

* RetiredCompleteMonster: Bernie Rose, according to back story created by the director and Creator/AlbertBrooks.

* 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]]).

* 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. the elevator kiss) to the high-octane (e.g. the fight at the motel).

* GainaxEnding: The ending might be this depending on how you interpret it. The final scene is somewhere between the ending of [[spoiler:''BeingThere'']], the [[spoiler: Dying Dream]] 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?]]

* GenreBusting: On TheOtherWiki, the genre is described as "neo-noir arthouse action crime thriller".

* WouldntHurtAChild: Paired with DamselInDistress, this trope explains why Driver gets involved in Standard's robbery scheme in the first place, to protect Irene's boy who was given a bullet by the ook who beat up Standard. In effect, the desire to protect Irene & her child is what drives Driver throughout the film.

* 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 a {{Mook}} 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." The Mook 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.

* EyeScream: Bernie jams a fork in a {{Mook}}'s eye.

* WouldntHurtAChild: Paired with DamselInDistress, this trope explains why Driver gets involved in Standard's robbery scheme in the first place, to protect Irene's boy who was given a bullet by the Mook who beat up Standard. In effect, the desire to protect Irene & her child is what drives Driver throughout the film.

* YouHaveFailedMe: After Bernie finds out a mook failed a robbery, he brutally stabs him in the neck.

** The Driver never cleans his jacket, walking around in broad daylight with it even when it's stained in blood. The closest he gets to cleaning it is a quick dip in the ocean.

--> '''Driver''': Now, [[spoiler: you just got a little boys father killed]], and you almost got us killed. And now, you're lying to me.

* 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 a boy and claims that the kid blinked first.]]

* HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Said by Nino. The Driver answers no and gets the response: "You're not very good at this, are you?"

''Drive'' is a 2011 crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, itself based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. 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, [[Creator/BryanCranston Shannon]], and his young neighbor [[Creator/CareyMulligan Irene]], whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from the east coast Mafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.

* 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 decide it's better to kill him.

* {{Badass}}: The Driver, who only gets more and more badass with each passing scene.

* GainaxEnding: The ending might be this depending on how you interpret it. The final scene is somewhere between the ending of [[spoiler:''Being There'']], the [[spoiler: Dying Dream]] 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?]]

* SoundtrackDissonance: One of the main reasons the movie is popular, really. It cuts from Cliff Martinez's quiet, abstract score or 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 [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg0jOpr1Uhk this]] playing in the background.

* BewareTheNiceOnes[=/=]BewareTheQuietOnes:The Driver may be soft-spoken, quietly friendly, and loyal, but he can hold his own in a fight, has a serious capacity for violence, and knows a thing or two about getting away from the police.

* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles: In all its labyrinthine-roaded glory.

** The film eerily echoes the 1978 Walter Hill film, ''Film/TheDriver'', starring Ryan O'Neal, who played a similarly enigmatic and nonverbal driver for criminals.

'''''Drive''''' is a 2011 crime thriller directed by Creator/NicolasWindingRefn, itself based on a 2005 novel of the same name by James Sallis. 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, [[Creator/BryanCranston Shannon]], and his young neighbor [[Creator/CareyMulligan Irene]], whom he becomes emotionally attached to. After the Driver becomes entangled in a botched heist involving money stolen from the east coast Mafia, he finds his life coming apart and must fight to stay alive and protect the people he's come to care for.

* RaceLift: Irene. In the novel she's a Hispanic woman named Irina. In the film she's played by Carey Mulligan.

* GreedyJew: Bernie and Nino are crooked Jewish mobsters and serve as the primary antagonists. Nino's motivation is never receiving respect from the Mafia because of his Jewishness.

* ProductPlacement: Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, the Staples Center and Denny's (Irene works at one). One wonders how much 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 so common (assuming, of course, Ford or Chrysler didn't pay for the line).