3 Films That Deal With Loneliness

1. Drive (2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX34ShfcsE Starring the ever-ascending talent that is Ryan Gosling, Drive is a stylish crime drama set in Los Angeles, and one of the finest films of the 21st century. The director, Nicolas Winding Refn, was deservedly awarded with the Best Director gong at the Cannes Film Festival, where Drive was met with a standing ovation. The film blends the contemporary with intertextual references to classic pictures of the past, and the conduction of the narrative is complimented excellently by directorial technique and gripping imagery. The story itself is rather straightforward, centred on an unnamed mechanic-come-getaway driver (Gosling), who undertakes the task of trying to help out a family that lives next door to him, after becoming romantically involved with the young mother, Irene, (Carey Mulligan) while her husband is in prison. What is more intriguing, is the enigmatic past of the Driver, who unravels a dark side to his character that is, at first, undetectable. Driver lives alone, in an apartment stripped bare of worldly possessions, his life only existing once he is behind the wheel of a car. He works his menial job, occasionally moonlighting as a stuntman, but it is at night, working with bank robbers and stick-up men, where he is in his element. His age, whereabouts, and how he came to live in LA are unknown; all that the audience do know, is that Driver is considerably troubled. Though he shows his noble, caring side to Irene and her young son Benicio, Driver is unveiled as a sociopath with a penchant for ultra-violence, committing acts unflinchingly and without remorse. After being double-crossed in a pawnshop robbery, Driver goes to war with a dangerous criminal underworld which is threatening the lives of Irene and Benicio, and his actions put him in grave danger. It is clear that the Driver is committing an act of love and compassion for two people who provide him with a dream of domestic happiness, but his gallantry is contradicted by his ethics, which are certainly not a sight for sore eyes. Gosling plays him to perfection as a maladjusted lone wolf; an anti-hero who is destined for the eternal lonely road, where only a speeding vehicle can provide him with sanctuary.