1 01
Drive
The Driver (Ryan Gosling) has no name and no signs of any real personal life. He barely speaks and rarely shows any real emotions. The Driver works as a Hollywood stunt driver by day and a getaway driver for criminals by night. The cars the Driver uses are provided by his mentor and boss, Shannon (Bryan Cranston)a crippled, washed-up body shop owner. On criminal missions all he does is drive. He doesn’t plan any of the heist details and he doesn’t carry a gun. He gives his clients a five minute window to pull off their jobs and get back in the car. If they do their jobs right and are out in five minutes, then the Driver guarantees a safe, successful getaway. The Driver lives in an inconspicuous apartment complex, in a sparsely decorated room, down the hall from an attractive young woman named Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her six-year-old son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). One day the Driver helps out when Irene’s car breaks down and she invites him back home. Over a glass of water, she explains that her husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac) is in prison and she is raising her son alone. Meanwhile, Shannon wants to borrow $300,000 from Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), a movie producer/loan shark/local gangster to invest in a racecar that he wants the
The Driver starts spending a lot of time with Irene and Benicio. He develops a genuine bond with Benicio and the chemistry and attraction between Irene and him develops into an unspoken romance. Unexpectedly, Irene receives a call from her husband’s attorney that he is being released from prison in one week. Standard comes home and is shown to be a decent guy who regrets the actions that put him in jail. Irene and the Driver try to come to terms with the end to their short-lived relationship. Standard finds Irene talking to the Driver and senses something, but instead of feeling threatened, he welcomes the Driver. One day the Driver finds Standard beaten badly in the building’s parking lot. The attackers were from Standard’s previous employer, Cook, who wants him to pull off a daylight pawn shop robbery as payback for protecting him in prison. The Driver offers to help when he hears that Irene and Benicio may be in danger if Standard does not cooperate. Cook tells them that the pawn shop is expected to have around $40,000 in cash. Standard has been told that he is a free man if the job goes off as expected. Accompanying the Driver and Standard is Cook’s associate, Blanche (Christina Hendricks).