Round 1: Drive vs. The Departed

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Round 1: Drive vs. The Departed

Polls will close on Saturday, October 20 at 12:00am(ish) ET.​

 

[Uncle Sam]

The Departed really benefits from multiple viewings. Well, at least in my case. I hated it - hated it - the first time I first saw it. It's since grown on me to the point where you could say, I suppose, that I like it. It's still bollocks that The Departed is the film that got Martin Scorsese his Oscar. Hugo's better. But I did like Hugo. I'm sure you, whoever you are, have complained about 3D before. Watch Hugo in 3D. Man, I wish I had a 3D TV just for that movie.

Anyway. The Departed. It's alright.

Drive's better. It's got that whole Nicolas Winding Refn thing of, you know, being very stylish and yeah, I guess it's more style over substance. But it has charm, it has an identity and it has characters, which excuses it. Brilliantly, it even has a love story which is developed without pages and pages of dialogue, but is communicated through actions and body language. It's almost a callback to films like Bullitt, only with more spectacularly violent deaths. And my bus rides would be a lot less cool without that soundtrack.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

But I did like Hugo. I'm sure you, whoever you are, have complained about 3D before. Watch Hugo in 3D. Man, I wish I had a 3D TV just for that movie.

I just quoted this because it needed to be said again.

Drive's better. It's got that whole Nicolas Winding Refn thing of, you know, being very stylish and yeah, I guess it's more style over substance. But it has charm, it has an identity and it has characters, which excuses it. Brilliantly, it even has a love story which is developed without pages and pages of dialogue, but is communicated through actions and body language. It's almost a callback to films like Bullitt, only with more spectacularly violent deaths. And my bus rides would be a lot less cool without that soundtrack.

I got done with Drive and my first thought was... "Did I enjoy this movie?" I will say this about Drive: it's an experience. I told all my friends to watch it, but with the pretense that I myself am not even sure how much I liked it. But it's an experience, in that there's no anything quite like it out there today. I think they accomplished everything they set out to do when making Drive, I'm just not sure if what they accomplished is something I enjoyed. It was more like watching something at the zoo than taking in a movie. "Yup, there's Drive over there, doing it's thing. Being all...Drive." It certainly wasn't bad, but I don't know that it was good either. It almost deserves, because it's so different than 99% of the movies out there, to be observed in its own category. Maybe I'm over-stating its uniqueness, or "brilliant" as fans of it might say, or maybe I was just super stoned when watching it. Drive is weird; maybe that's the best, most simple way of putting it.

Looks like Departed is going to win. And you know what Sam? I'm going to watch it again, per your comments. I also didn't think much of it when I first took it in, but I feel like I could enjoy it if I watched it now. As it will likely be making its way towards the second round, I'll see it again and be freshly educated on it.

 

[The Doctor]

Drive is weird; maybe that's the best, most simple way of putting it.

Hardly.

I really find nothing "weird" about Drive. I agree that it's certainly an experience, but "weird"? It's a story about a guy who gets mixed up in lots and lots of tricky business. Pretty standard to me.

I wouldn't classify Drive as an action film. It's more of a slice-of-life film, where it just so happens that the main character's life is quite exciting. The reason I love the film so much is because it's not afraid to do something most movies these days don't, and that is to just shut up. The whole story is communicated through small snippets of personal conversation, with long stretches of silences that say SO much more than any dialogue could have.

I really can't put over that enough. The movie manages to build and manipulate all of your emotions through the subtle things - awkward conversations, facial movements, tiny gestures - so that when something not-so-subtle like the violence or beatdowns happen they're that much more impactful and shocking, and that's why it's so damn good. The contrast in this film is just incredible.

The pacing in the film is also immaculate, with the buildup to where all hell breaks loose tense and shocking even after my fourth viewing. The soundtrack as well is simply phenomenal, and is a testament to just how much something like that can affect a film. It's also shot incredibly well - I mean, really, a film about driving with good driving segments where you can actually tell what's going on because it doesn't use that shaky-cam bullshit? Shocking!

The main character is also incredibly cool. One of the coolest main characters ever, even. He's layered and complex, and I mean he's layered and complex for real, which is something you don't often see in "action" heroes, who are usually given some stock reason for being the way they are. The Driver is just a guy who got mixed up with the wrong people and just so happens to be crazy enough to get out alive.

I really can't put it over enough and I'm dangerously close to crossing the line to pure gushing if I haven't already. It's my favorite film, pure and simple, so forgive me. Watch it. Love it. Vote for it.