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Parents' Guide to

Drive

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Crime drama is exciting, well-made, and shockingly violent.

Movie R 2011 100 minutes
Drive Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 17 parent reviews

rtgfc T.
rtgfc T. Adult
November 2, 2022
age 15+
This movie is very violent in some scenes but I think most people 15 and up should be able to handle it and I do think that it is a masterpiece and has some of the best cinematography I have ever seen in a movie.

This title has:

Too much violence
b.d
b.d Parent
December 27, 2020
age 18+
See all 17 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The "driver" (Ryan Gosling) drives stunt cars for the movies by day -- and by night he hires out his services for criminals who need getaway cars. He works with hard-luck-but-cheerful mechanic Shannon (Bryan Cranston) on both jobs. He's incredibly skilled, lives a quiet, simple, Zen-like life, and has all his bases covered -- until he meets his pretty neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan), and her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). When Irene's husband is released from prison, the driver reluctantly agrees to help him on a job that will get him out of debt and out of trouble. But everything goes wrong, and the fallout leads back to a pair of sinister thugs (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). Can the driver steer a way out of this mess?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (17 ):
Kids say (51 ):

Danish-born director Nicolas Winding Refn isn't exactly a household name, but he might be after DRIVE; he might also elicit comparisons to Quentin Tarantino, which would be entirely deserved. Drive is steeped in movies, especially moody 1980s films by Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, and William Friedkin, as well as any genre films about stoic, secretive heroes -- but at the same time it feels like something new. Its style prevails over its substance, but what style!

But that's not meant to disparage the film's substance; clearly Refn adores actors, and he finds many tiny moments of warmth, adoration, and humor within the film's steely surface. In one impeccably framed scene, the driver and the girl merely smile at one another, hinting at untold depths. Every actor delivers his or her best work, especially the colorful villains and sidekicks. Only the movie's extreme, shocking violence could get in the way of total adoration for this sublime piece of genre work.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the impact of the movie's extreme violence. How does it compare to what you see in horror movies? Which is more upsetting? Why?

  • Is the main character a "hero"? Are viewers meant to find him sympathetic even though he's a criminal? What makes "bad guy" characters compelling?

  • What is the movie's attitude toward women? What are the female characters like? Are they three-dimensional?

  • Is the little boy in this movie ever in true danger, or is the danger only suggested? What's the difference?

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