There’s this one shot where Ryan Gosling is sitting in the same position, in the same diner, as Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler. It was freaky.

So I first watched Drive before I became a “film enthusiast” and I thought it was good. Just good, though. Rewatching it through a film lover’s eyes, I am now very fond of it. The look of the film, the cinematography, the camera work, the soft electronic music and somber tone disguising this dark and gritty film, is all so beautiful. There’s got to be a better word to use but beautiful is what I’m sticking with.

Like I said, I first watched this before films were my passion, so I never thought about how good this film is as a character driven story rather than a pretty film with some cool car sequences. It has now come to my attention that this is a character study film, starting with what seems like a normal guy in Ryan Gosling, leading up to a reveal that he can get his hands dirty too.

There’s nothing for me to say about Ryan Gosling’s performance here that hasn’t been said already. I love how quiet and laid back he is, hiding his dark side. Deep inside, he’s raging fire and one little flick of the lighter and he’s up in flames. It’s amazing.

One thing that I appreciate from the film is the pacing. Slow but never slow enough to take one out of the film. The tension is what keeps the eyes glued to the screen. You get behind Ryan Gosling and stick with him through the end.

Drive, I’m sorry I thought you were “just good” when I saw you a long while back. I’ve come to appreciate you more than ever.

Also, Todd Phillips could never.