Drive, the action film that focuses on characters

The Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has come to present Drive in Competition, his first American film, adapted from the novel of the same name by James Sallis. This action film has a particular characteristic that the actors appreciate: real importance is placed on the characters.

For his first American film, Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn brings us a magnificent cast. The script really appealed to the actors, who were quick to come on board with the project. “I have always wanted to make an action film, but nowadays this genre tends to put all the emphasis on the action, to the detriment of the characters. I liked this script because it is based on a very strong character, at the same time as it develops a complex love story,” explains Ryan Gosling, who plays the main character, and who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 2007 for Half Nelson by Ryan Fleck.

The story follows a young solitary man who works as a stunt man in Hollywood by day and as a driver for criminals at night. Shannon, his manager who gets him all his contracts, makes a proposal to Bernie Rose, a notorious scoundrel, to invest in a vehicle so his protégé can compete on the professional stock-car racing circuits. This is when the driver crosses paths with Irene and her son.

“I fell in love with this story and I bent over backwards to get the role,” admits Carrey Mulligan, nominated for an Oscar for best actress in 2010 for An Education by Lone Scherfiq and who plays Irene in Drive. Bryan Cranston, three-time Emmy Award winner for Best Actor in a dramatic series, had the same motivation for his role in this film as Shannon: “The script really pushed me to make the film. I couldn’t resist this character; I couldn’t wait to get into his skin.”

A.C.

The film will be screened at 11:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. in the Grand Théâtre Lumière.