Monday, January 16, 2012

Drive - Expecting the unexpected

I first saw Drive three weeks ago. When I arrived in London, it was the first film I saw. Having missed it at last years Melbourne International Film Festival, and having been unsuccessful in finding it screening throughout my months in Africa, my anticipation to see this film was high.

I tried my best to steer clear of any and all reviews. Anyone's attempt to spark a conversation on the topic of Drive was typically met with me screaming at them to "SHUT UP!" followed by me inserting my fingers into my ears and repeating "LALALALA NOT LISTENING LALALALA". However despite my best efforts I still heard things. Dribs and drabs from fellow film fans and the occasional traveler. Whispers of a surprising ultra-violent turn. Murmurs of a utterly sublime soundtrack. Hushed comparisons to Taxi Driver. I couldn't help myself. I got excited.

I sat in the tiny, almost empty, cinema in central London. The lights dimmed. Then The Chromatics' Tick of the Clock kicked in. I was in love.

At least I thought I was.

The first half of the film really resonated with me. I was swept up in the seductive 80s infused electro soundtrack. I loved the minimalist nature of the film, dialogue was sparse, with more communicated through looks and smiles than actual words. It was beautiful.

Then the violence kicked in. I didn't have a problem with its graphic nature, it was pretty much on par with what I was expecting, I just didn't love the more traditional criminal underworld story that emerged along with the violence. It wasn't that it was bad. In fact it's actually very exciting. It was just that it somehow didn't live up to the promises made by the beginning of the film. I wanted more style and beauty and less gangsters spouting expository dialogue.

This got me thinking about expectations. Did the second half slump I experienced simply occur due to my outrageously high expectations for the film as a whole? Or was it born from the expectations set up by the film itself? Had the beginning of the film simply been too good? Perhaps it was a mixture of both. I went in, despite trying to have a clear and open mind, expecting a masterpiece. I expected to be blown away, knocked back in my seat. And I was for the first half. Had I not known that the film would turn violent, perhaps that jarring change of pace would have propelled the film into the stratosphere for me. But as it stands it didn't. It was more like “oh ok, I guess this is where it gets gory”.

As much as I preach about judging a film on its own merits. This notion is essentially impossible. An audience will always bring with it its own baggage. Its own preconceptions. Its own expectations. At the end of the day, all we can do is try. Try to be impartial. I have since seen Drive a second time and actually enjoyed it more. I believe the second half actually has some interesting things to say (more on that in another post). In fact I think it may actually be my favourite film of 2011. By seeing the film a second time I went in knowing exactly what to expect and could focus on what the film was saying as opposed to getting caught up in whether the film was providing what I had expected it to. The beauty of film is its ability to surprise, to take us to new and exciting places. However the true nature of film can only be exposed once we strip away the surprise, reconcile all expectation and are then free to delve in beneath the surface and explore the hidden treasures that await.

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