This was not at all what I was expecting, but I think it may have been brilliant.
Ok, so the first ⅓ was exactly what I was expecting from a crime noir starring Ryan Gosling about a motorcyclist who robs banks to provide for his son, with music by Mike Patton and choice cuts by Suicide and others. It was Drive reminiscent. It was heartbreaking. It was brutally intense and sad and Gosling once again acted the shit out of the place.
But the rest of the film took unexpected turns to say the least. Like something written for a '30s pulp fiction short story collection, lives intertwine and stories overlap and everything unravels in all directions, with brief moments of salvation/redemption that, upon further reflection, become just unfinished tales of more unraveling.
Full of excellent performances (even by Eva Mendes), this film has a great deal of heart. It's so ambitious that I can't believe it all worked out so well. But despite how good it was, I longed for that first ⅓ to resolve and right itself, and get deeper and darker and grittier. If you're anything like me, you'll walk away with Gosling's performance and the devastating first third buried in your psyche.
Recommended. But don't expect another Drive.