Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine’s review published on Letterboxd:
Action!: Nicolas Winding's Mood and Pace Through The Neon, Gritty Streets
It seems as if some movies are meant to be seen at a right age or the right mindset. This is only the second time I’ve seen this movie after seeing it way back when it came out at my house with my mom. I remember liking it, but also I didn’t remember much about it. So this was in many ways a surprising and rewarding rewatch.
I remember loving The Neon Demon, but as of right now, this is where Refn reached his pinnacle, and everything else seems to be a rollercoaster in terms of quality. Much of that has probably to do with the fact he has gone overboard with the style over substance. He seems to have followed up more on Valhalla Rising than this film, with little to none dialogue and scenes that linger for an absurd amount of time. Almost as if he had been incapable of writing full length scripts, so he takes these short pages and stretch it way beyond its limits. Here, however, the film is incredible paced with the moments of silence serving in many ways to build up tension. For example, the opening scene, its relatively silent but by combining Clift Martinez’s cool and suspenseful score (which as a whole does a tremendous job setting up the vibe of the whole film), the baseball game, the police radio, the sound editing and the right shots, we get arguably one of the greatest chase sequences in cinema, even though there’s little chasing and it’s more of a cat and mouse game. Newton Thomas Siegel’s cinematography is superb, especially the lighting work and the way how they subtly add this film noir elements. Also loved the entrancing vibe of the film, it makes the moments of violence the most impactful resulting in some good jumpscares.
The performances are great all across the board. Between this and Blade Runner 2049, Gosling showed he was an incredible physical performer. He manages to tell so much through its body language and reactions. As proven later on, it seemed for a while other directors overexploited this in ways that never worked and made his performances feel kinda dull, but Refn does knows how to use this skills to add to the enigma of this man, he’s almost like a gentler and more quiet version of a Clint Eastwod’s Man With No Name. Mulligan was also pretty good, she technically didn’t have much to do but whether it’s because she’s in some of the coolest scenes in the film, namely the elevator scene, she manages to leave an impression. Cranston has very little screen time, but his chemistry with Gosling is such that you begin to feel for him when, SPOILER ALERT, things go awry. Brooks also appears very little in the film but him and Pearlman are great as the villains.
All in all, anchored by a superb score, a stunning cinematography, memorable outfits, strong performances and a simple yet entertaining story, its not surprising why it is slowly becoming a modern classic of the action genre.
Action!: Nicolas Winding's Mood and Pace Through The Neon, Gritty Streets
TODAY SCHEDULE
Bedevil
Candy Cane Lane
Drive
The Day Will Come
