Drive was both the biggest surprise of 2011 and my favorite film of 2011. I will try to hold back on my review/recommendation because I could talk about this film for hours, which wouldn't help anyone who hasn't seen it because it is best to come into Drive with as little knowledge about the film as possible.
Drive follows a character only known as the Driver (Ryan Gosling), a stunt man by day and a getaway driver by night who winds up over his head when his neighbor's (Carey Mulligan) imprisoned husband comes back home, bringing trouble with him.
Despite the title, the character's name, and occupation(s); Drive is not they typical high octane car movie (i.s. Fast and the Furious) and doesn't even contain that much driving. Instead it is an existential retelling of the fable "The Scorpion and the Frog". It's a violent character study of a man, doing the only thing he knows to protect the only people he really cares about. With an emphasis on violence, as this film has several scenes that will eek out those who cringe easily, which fits in with director Nicolas Winding Refn who is notoriously violent.
One thing I really loved about Drive was the lack of dialogue, especially with Gosling's Driver. He and Mulligan share many moments in the film where they just stare at each-other. We feel what they are feeling rather than being told about it. Mulligan commented on this in an interview saying that her experience making the film was just "staring longingly at Ryan Gosling for hours each day."
Even with the lack of dialogue, Drive is a film with many noteworthy performances. Gosling and Mulligan are both great in the film, as is Ron Perlman and Bryan Cranston. However, the biggest surprise performance was given by Albert Brooks who is completely against type in his scary role. And is now the last man I would want coming after me with a knife.
The last thing I will say about Drive is it is highly stylized in a way that is unforgetable. The elements in the film don't sound like they would fit together on paper (80's sounding music, extreme gore, a hollywood heartthrob, existentialism, pink credits, etc.) but they come together beautifully in a way that made me personally think in my head "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen" and that was just during the opening credits.
Drive is a film that is different than most films that you will see today and deserves multiple viewings. Just don't expect Fast and the Furious.
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