drive hard full movie review

Film Review: ‘Drive Hard’

John Cusack and Thomas Jane are Americans Down Under in a by-numbers buddy crime caper.

By Dennis Harvey

Dennis Harvey

Film Critic

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Approximately as unforgettable as its title, “Drive Hard” finds John Cusack and Thomas Jane as Americans in Australia — presumably due to reasons of financing rather than narrative convenience — thrown together for crime-caper-comedy purposes. This kind of B-grade action buddy pic on wheels would have fit handily on a drive-in bill between “Smokey and the Bandit”-type knockoffs four decades ago, and apart from the number of cell phones thrown out of car windows, veteran Aussie schlockmeister Brian Trenchard-Smith has done precious little to update the tired genre conventions trotted out here. Launching theatrically Stateside Oct. 3 amid a series of international rollouts in various formats, this inoffensive if fairly lowbrow mediocrity has enough generically marketable aspects to turn a profit via ancillary sales.

Former pro race-car driver Peter (Jane) has left that vocation for domestic life, though the family he’s created Down Under hardly appreciates him. His henpecking lawyer wife (Yesse Spence) calls the shots and provides most of their income, while their preadolescent daughter (the actress goes curiously unbilled in the cast list) is already a full-on private-school snob. Peter hopes to open a racing school, but funds for that aren’t forthcoming; meanwhile, he works part-time as a much less exciting kind of driving instructor, helping ordinary folks get their licenses. Today’s client is not exactly ordinary, however: Fellow American Simon (Cusack) seems to enjoy flouting every traffic law before turning the wheel back over to teacher. Saying “I’ll be five minutes,” he ducks into the HQ for Intl. Bank & Trust, emerging a bit later in a hail of gunfire.

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It turns out Simon has researched Peter, and due to his racing skills has selected him as an ideal (if unwilling) getaway driver. When he tries to flee this captor on foot, the unarmed Peter is (somewhat nonsensically) shot at by police, so he climbs back into their vehicle and duly gets them both out of there. Soon they’ve ditched the cops, at least temporarily. But now they’re being pursued by corporate “security personnel” with orders to kill, since bank honcho Rossi (Christopher Morris) knows ex-associate Simon knows about certain massive institutional money laundering and tax fraud — as do two federal investigators (Zoe Ventoura, Jason Wilder) seeking bigger criminal fish than Simon and the measly $9 million he’s nicked today. Nonetheless, the bank robbers are all over the telly, creating problems as the duo drive up the Gold Coast and are recognized by trigger-happy average citizens.

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No stranger to cartoonish action junk, Trenchard-Smith (who 30 years ago gave us wee Nicole Kidman in “BMX Bandits,” a movie with better chase scenes than this one) directs with his customary undiscriminating cheer and energy. But the fact that the film isn’t quite boring is about the most one can say for it. Characters keep making complaints like “What kinda stupid do you think I am?!,” as if accusing the scenarists.

Jane works hard at comic amiability, getting no help whatsoever from the wheezy badinage and dumb situations he’s stuck with; Cusack barely works at all, hiding behind shades throughout and presuming some leftover cool from better career moments will get him by here. (Pasty and overdressed, he doesn’t look very healthy for someone whose chef and personal trainer get screen credit.) Supporting turns range from the clock-punching to the scenery-chewing. Tech and design contributions are undistinguished.

Reviewed online, San Francisco, Oct. 1, 2014. Running time: 96 MIN.

• Production: (Australia) An RLJ/Image Entertainment (in U.S.) release of a Voltage Pictures presentation of an Odyssey Film Studios Australia production. Produced by Pam Collis, Paul O’Kane, Kirk Shaw. Executive producers, Shaw, Dan Grodnik, James M. Vernon, Dominic Rustam, Babacar Diene, Bill Bromiley, Mark Ward, Michael Bayer.
• Crew: Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. Screenplay, Brigitte Jean Allen, Trenchard-Smith. Camera (color, HD), Tony O’Loughlan; music, Bryce Jacobs; production designer, Jon Dowding; art director, Jonathon Hannon; set decorator, Chrissy Feld; costume designer, Monica O’Brien; sound, Mark Cornish; sound designer/re-recording mixer, Michael Newton; action vehicle coordinator, Harry Ward; stunt coordinator, John Walton; assistant director, John Titley; casting, Donald Paul Pemrick, Dean E. Fronk, Tom McSweeney.
• With: John Cusack, Thomas Jane, Zoe Ventoura, Christopher Morris, Yesse Spence, Jerome Ehlers, Carol Burns, Christopher Summers, Robert Newman, Andrew Buchanan, Damien Garvey, Jason Wilder, Mick Roughan, Adrian Auld.

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‘drive hard’: film review.

John Cusack and Thomas Jane star in this buddy comedy about a bank robber and the driving instructor he forces to be his getaway driver

By THR Staff

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If the old 42 nd Street grindhouses still existed, John Cusack would be its reigning star. The once A-list actor has seemingly become relegated to the sorts of exploitative B-movies that once ruled the now demolished strip of double-feature showing theaters where his latest effort, Drive Hard , would have been a strong attraction.

The simple plot of Brian Tenchard-Smith ’s comic actioner, which took no less than four screenwriters to concoct, concerns the forced collaboration between Peter (an unflatteringly shaggy-haired Thomas Jane ), a former race car driver now relegated to eking out a meager living as a driving instructor, and Simon (Cusack), his new pupil. Despite the film’s Australian setting, both characters are American, eliminating the need for those pesky forced accents.

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Peter, who was forced to give up his former occupation by his successful lawyer wife (Tessa Roberts), is hardly enthused to be teaching the squirrely Simon who wants to learn how to drive on the other side of the road. But his true intentions soon become clear when he forces Peter at gunpoint to become his getaway driver in a bank heist that nets him a smooth $9 million in bearer bonds.

The two men are soon pursued by squabbling state and federal law enforcement authorities, as well as the shady bank’s private security forces who display no preference for capturing them alive. Despite his lack of a criminal background, Peter is assumed to be Simon’s willing accomplice, with even his own wife not believing his fervent denials.

Essentially a chase movie infused with buddy comedy elements, the film is a fast-paced, mildly entertaining lark that’s chiefly enlivened by Cusack’s droll performance as the wisecracking criminal who’s quick to offer marital advice to his henpecked driver. The dialogue is frequently fast and funny—“What, is there no shortage of criminals?” protests Peter at his forced collaboration—with the pair bickering like an old married couple.

In the process of evading their multitude of pursuers, they have colorful encounters with a pistol-packing grannie; a shotgun-toting convenience store clerk whose maladroit way with his weapon results in an accident that would surely please Quentin Tarantino; and a gang of shitkicker bikers at a bar.

By the time the picaresque tale has reached its conclusion, the experience has so changed the hangdog Peter that when he’s reunited with his wife their sex life is miraculously restored to its former glory. There’s a message there somewhere, but probably not one that should be taken too seriously, an attitude that can be similarly applied to this divertingly trivial B-movie.

Production: Odyssey Media

Cast: John Cusack, Thomas Jane, Zoe Ventoura, Christopher Morris, Yesse Spence, Jerome Ehlers

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

Screenwriters: Brigitte Jean Allen, Brian Trenchard-Smith, Chad Law, Evan Law

Producers: Pam Collis, Paul O’Kane, Kirk Shaw

Executive producers: Kirk Shaw, Dan Grodnik, James M. Vernon, Dominic Rustram, Babacar Diene

Director of photography: Tony O’Louglan

Editor: Peter Carrodus

Production designer: Jon Dowding

Costume designer: Monica O’Brien

Composer: Bryce Jacobs

Casting: Dean E. Fronk, Donald Paul Pemrick

No rating, 92 min.

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Drive Hard (2014) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'drive hard' online.

Looking to feast your eyes on ' Drive Hard ' in the comfort of your own home? Discovering a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the Brian Trenchard-Smith-directed movie via subscription can be a huge pain, so we here at Moviefone want to do right by you. Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'Drive Hard' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of how you can watch 'Drive Hard' right now, here are some finer points about the Voltage Pictures, Odyssey Film Studios Australia, Odyssey Media action flick. Released November 11th, 2014, 'Drive Hard' stars John Cusack , Thomas Jane , Zoe Ventoura , Christopher Morris The NR movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 36 min, and received a user score of 43 (out of 100) on TMDb, which assembled reviews from 127 top users. Interested in knowing what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "A former race car driver is abducted by a mysterious thief and forced to be the wheel-man for a crime that puts them both in the sights of the cops and the mob." 'Drive Hard' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Plex, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Plex Channel, The Roku Channel, Apple iTunes, Tubi TV, Microsoft Store, Pluto TV, and Hoopla .

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Drive Hard (2014)

• User Reviews
• The crash scene of the Nissan Pathfinder was very obviously not the same car. Solution: Use the same wheels at least.
• The police used VT Commodores and BA Falcons that Gold Coast police stopped using at least four years ago. Solution: hire FG falcons and VF Commodores, order some magnetic police graphics to stick on the hire cars.
• Peter was shifting that automatic Getz too much. Solution: get a manual to cause a more 'dramatic' or 'rushed' effect.
• Australian Federal Police do not drive Mitsubishi Challengers. Solution: hire a VF senator or caprice.
• Pistols are much harder to own in Australia, the owners are required to attend a certain amount of meetings each year (depending on the state) and far less people own pistols than rifles and shotguns. Solution: let people have shotguns and lever action rifles. (Yes I know criminals can get their hands on pistols easier but the old lady? I mean come on).
• An XA GT coupe in fully restored condition should not have an overheating problem while traveling over 60 kph in weather cooler than 27°C. Solution: have it run out of fuel instead.
• Dropping a shotgun with the stock removed could never cause it to discharge a shell. Any type of gun is completely safe as long as that trigger is not pulled (there are some extreme circumstances but a 500 mm drop is not on of them). Solution: Have Peter kill the man accidentally.
• There is absolutely no way that Ford Mustang (even though it was a 351) could beat an assumed Harley Davidson v-twin. Solution: have the motorcyclists have obstacles to navigate or have the mustang go off road a bit to shake them off.

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Drive Hard Reviews

The experience is like watching an unprepared teenager fake his way through different classes at once: briefly fascinating, mostly idiotic.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Sep 14, 2018

Very disappointing potboiler that runs out of gas far too quickly.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Oct 7, 2014

Delivers a goodly amount of good natured action fun but in the end suffers from being just too low-key for its own good.

Full Review | Oct 5, 2014

"Drive Hard" is just a bore, barely registering as a movie, which is a shame, because with the oddball cast and somewhat notable director, it could have been fun and trashy.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Oct 3, 2014

You know there's something fundamentally wrong with Drive Hard less than five seconds in: It opens on a shot of star Thomas Jane sporting an absurd mop of a hairdo that might have been borrowed from a Raggedy Ann doll.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Oct 3, 2014

A deeply terrible would-be action comedy that looks, sounds, and feels like an 80s cheap and cheesy made-for-cable movie.

Full Review | Oct 3, 2014

Sputtering on fumes almost from the start, it captures a well-earned checkered flag as one of the worst films of 2014.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Oct 2, 2014

Does a lot of revving in order to juice its jokey, violent bad-boy cred, but it never gets out of the driveway.

Full Review | Oct 2, 2014

Approximately as unforgettable as its title ...

Normally, I would have no objection to being trapped in a car with John Cusack, but that was before I saw "Drive Hard."

Feels like the work of a computer program that analyzed dozens of popular movies in different genres, then self-generated a screenplay that tried to incorporate elements from all of them.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Oct 2, 2014

[It] doesn't exactly work up a sweat devising an interesting plot villains, but the badinage between the odd couple ... makes the time pass painlessly enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 2, 2014

It's dumb. It's ugly. And yet it's not all bad.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 2, 2014

Essentially a chase movie infused with buddy comedy elements, the film is a fast-paced, mildly entertaining lark that's chiefly enlivened by Cusack's droll performance.

Falls a little flat, never quite secure in its insanity and perhaps a bit too ambitious with its screenplay, which spends more time building secretive allegiances than it does tending to the visceral highlights.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Oct 2, 2014

Cusack and Jane look like they're improvising much of the time, and while that doesn't lead to a better movie, the off-the-cuff approach is the best thing in the film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 1, 2014

Just as egregious as its retrograde sexual politics, however, is the film's distinct lack of energy or wit -- shortcomings that ultimately render it merely a cruddy B-movie throwaway.

Full Review | Oct 1, 2014

This movie is so colorless, odorless, and (especially) tasteless, so devoid of mass or substance, that it's easy to forget even while it's still playing.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Oct 1, 2014

Scruffy, low budget, the driving is weak but in some weird way, Jane and Cusack have chemistry and make this fitfully amusing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 30, 2014

If you're not expecting too much, Drive Hard is mindlessly entertaining, but it lacks that spark of madness that might have made it truly fun.

Full Review | Sep 30, 2014

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Rob’s car movie review: drive hard (2014).

I can state unequivocally that it has been my pleasure to have penned this column for you all these past five years. Not only have I been able to embrace my lifelong loves of writing, cars, and filmmaking in the creation of Rob’s Car Movie Review , but I’ve had the pleasure of being able to expound upon some of my favorite films of all time, such as Vanishing Point , Two-Lane Blacktop , and American Graffiti .

As you can probably imagine, it is not easy to continue to find suitable films to review month after month and keep things fresh every time on the writing front. As such, I’m constantly on the hunt for a lesser-known movie to review, or a unique angle to consider it by.

As this column marks the fiftieth iteration of Rob’s Car Movie Review, there was added pressure to do something a bit different this time. But what?

After reviewing my previous articles, it occurred to me that the overwhelming majority of the movies I picked have been set in America, and all of them have featured American muscle cars.

While this country is undoubtedly the indigenous and spiritual home of the muscle car, there are some pretty cool rides that have come from other countries too.

Using some of the ultra-top-secret means and methods at my disposal, I managed to find a car movie that is set in and predominately features cars from Australia. The flick is 2014’s Drive Hard , and it’s the fiftieth subject of Rob’s Car Movie Review !

The theatrical one-sheet poster for Drive Hard. (Image courtesy of Image Entertainment.)

Drive Hard was an Odyssey Media production that received limited theatrical, and wide home video distribution in the United States through Image Entertainment. Directed by B-movie helmer, Brian Trenchard-Smith, the movie was based on a screenplay by Chad Law, Evan Law, and Brigette Jean Allen.

For a decidedly low-budget production, the film has a surprisingly notable pair of lead actors in the form of John Cusack ( High Fidelity, Being John Malkovitch, Con Air) and Thomas Jane ( Boogie Nights, Deep Blue Sea, The Punisher ). Rounding out the cast is Zoe Ventoura, Christopher Morris, and Yesse Spence.

Thomas Jane as Peter Roberts. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

An action/comedy set in Surfer’s Paradise, Australia, Drive Hard tells the story of an American expatriate, Peter Roberts (Jane). A former highly successful race car driver, Peter gave up his beloved, but dangerous vocation after having an unplanned child with, and subsequent quickie marriage to an Australian lawyer, Tessa (Spence).

Though Tessa exerts pressure on him to get a new profession, Peter resists, preferring to be employed as a driving instructor to earn money towards one day opening a racing school.

John Cusack as Simon Keller. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

One day Peter is hired by an odd and eccentric American, Simon Keller (Cusack), to give a driving lesson. During the course of their drive, Keller insists that they stop at a bank. Unbeknownst to Peter, Keller steals millions of dollars in bearer bonds from the depository, and after a brief shootout with security guards, compels Peter at gunpoint to use his prodigious driving skills as a getaway driver.

A pursuit involving the police ensues, in which Peter is ultimately successful in evading the authorities. Keller attempts to assuage Peter’s ire by offering to split the ill-gotten gains with him, but Peter can’t be mollified. His intention to turn himself in is stymied though once Peter and Keller learn that in addition to the local police, they are now being hunted by the Feds and a slew of contract killers hired by a crooked executive at the bank Keller robbed.

With the stakes ratcheted up, Peter has no choice but to follow Keller’s lead. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

With the stakes now amped up to the maximum, Peter has no choice but to help Keller get away, and evade their pursuers en route to a boat Keller has moored at a harbor some distance away. In the process, Peter and Keller form a bond, and Peter’s interest in high-speed driving is reinvigorated.

Right off the bat, so there is no misunderstanding, Drive Hard is not a good film. Despite its star power, it suffers from many shortcomings common to low-budget B movies.

In regards to its stars, neither lead actor gives a good performance. Both Jane and Cusack play things fairly over the top at times, and straight in others. Given that both of them have had superlative acting accomplishments, one can naturally conclude that the fault is not theirs, but rather a combination of external factors.

Cusack and Jane’s talents are unfortunately wasted by a bad script and poor direction. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

First and foremost, it’s clear that the director did not have a good handle on maintaining a tone throughout the movie, and as a result, gave his actors inconsistent direction. Adding to that is the script which, I can assure you is no Chinatown . Full of uninspiring dialogue, and cliched set-ups and situations, the two lead thespians had very little to work with.

What’s more, the story is one you feel like you’ve seen before any number of times. It never delivers anything that stands out as unique, and never surprises with a game-shifting plot twist or additional hurdles once the narrative is initially set up. After the bank robbery, you know exactly how the film will progress and ultimately conclude.

There are also a host of continuity errors throughout the film, enough so that you could devise a pretty cool drinking game based on whenever someone’s gun changes model from scene to scene, or a prop disappears in one shot and reappears in the next. There are also plenty of gaffes, such as camera equipment and crew members in window reflections, and camera vehicles inadvertently appearing in view.

Drive Hard isn’t devoid of charms, however. Technically, many aspects of the movie are quite good. The cinematography by Tony O’Loughlan, is stylish and perpetually well framed. Likewise, Peter Carrodus’ adroit film editing provides for satisfactory overall pacing and heightened excitement during action sequences.

The best facet of the movie though is most assuredly the cars.

Peter and Keller roll out of Surfer’s Paradise in a 1972 Ford Falcon XA GT – a serious piece of Aussie muscle. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

In the early part of the movie, we are introduced to a prime example of Australian muscle, a 1972 Ford Falcon XA GT. Produced by Ford Australia with input from Ford in the United States, the Falcon XA was available in sedan, wagon, and hardtop two-door configurations.

The car in the movie, a right-hand drive, hardtop GT model, packs a 351 Cleveland V8, good for 300 horsepower, and a three-speed automatic transmission. It is equipped with the RPO 83 package that yielded a Holley 780 carburetor and 2.25 inch exhaust. Finished in cherry red over a tan interior, the car features gloss black hood striping and NACA ducts, blacked-out exterior trim, and mag wheels shod with Bridgestone performance tires.

Unfortunately, the Falcon XA is not driven hard in Drive Hard. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

Sadly, we don’t see the car have the spurs put to it, rather it is driven fairly mildly through the Australian countryside for a third of the film. A shame, since I would have greatly enjoyed hearing that Cleveland rip and seen those rear tires kick up some Aussie soil.

Another beast from Oz that makes an appearance in the film is a 2014 Ford Falcon FG race car. Outfitted with a normally aspirated, 5.0 liter V8, capable of churning out 640 horsepower, mated to a six-speed, sequential transmission, the FG normally races in the outrageous Australian V8 Supercar series. Even though its appearance in the film sees it relegated to a trailer, we do get a nice look inside and outside of the car.

This 2014 Ford Falcon FG race car makes an appearance in the movie. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

In keeping with the movie’s American/Australian fusion, it stands to reason that the third car featured prominently in the proceedings would be an iconic American muscle car. Indeed, halfway through the film, Peter and Keller steal a gorgeous 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I which they use to reach Keller’s final destination.

Peter and Keller steal this insanely hot ’69 Mustang Mach I. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

Oh, what a beauty this ride is. Painted in black with gold stripes over a black interior, the car appears to be bone stock, save for a right-hand drive conversion likely performed at the time of import to Australia.

The Mach I sees some action in Drive Hard, most notably in a chase involving a biker gang. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

Fitted with the same 351 Cleveland as the aforementioned Falcon XA, the film’s Mustang is equipped with a three-speed auto, which Peter repeatedly slap shifts. Replete with the optional chin splitter and rear spoiler, the car literally steals every scene it’s in. And yes, it thankfully does see some high-speed action, most notably in a pursuit involving a biker gang. Movie cars don’t get much better than this one.

Movie cars don’t get much better than this. (Photo courtesy of Odyssey Media.)

Despite its failings, Drive Hard is a watchable film. It’s the sort of guilty pleasure you can enjoy late at night when you don’t want to think much about what you’re viewing. While it could have been considerably better in the hands of more talented filmmakers, the excellent cars make up a lot for what the movie is lacking. I’ll give it a generous five out of ten pistons, and say I’ve seen both better and worse.

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Review: Action Comedy ‘Drive Hard’ Starring John Cusack and Thomas Jane

Drew taylor.

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Australians, more than anyone, know about car chases. As Quentin Tarantino joked in “ Not Quite Hollywood ,” the terrific documentary on Australian genre cinema, there could be an Australian movie about young girls coming of age and it would probably have a totally kick-ass car chase. The almost cultural responsibility for truly outstanding car chases (as evidenced in everything from “ Mad Max ” to this year’s “ Wolf Creek 2 “) makes “ Drive Hard ,” a dopey, Aussie-set action comedy that stars, for reasons that are never sufficiently articulated, Thomas Jane and John Cusack , even more of a crushing disappointment. This one is all out of gas.

In “Drive Hard,” Jane plays Peter Roberts, a former racecar driver who, after knocking up his girlfriend, decides to get married and settle down (in Australia, of course). His glory days of spills, chills, and finishing line champagne showers are behind him. Now he teaches driving lessons in a car so small that it’s barely visible to the human eye. One day he shows up to work and has Cusack’s Simon Keller character as his student. Eventually this man, dressed mostly in black (including a black baseball cap and large sunglasses), hijacks the driving instructor car, forcing Roberts to become the wheelman for an ambitious theft.

If the plot sounds thin, that’s because it is. There seems to be the suggestion of a screenplay, rather than an actual written document with words and stage direction. This really comes across during endless sequences of dialogue where it seems like Jane and Cusack aren’t just improvising, but creating scenes out of whole cloth. They not only riff on the ludicrousness of the heist or their characters’ motivations, but they shape large sections of the movie through their goofy fumbling. Jane and Cusack are both talented performers and both can handle this kind of loose, free-form environment, but even the most gifted comedians have some guidelines when it comes to improvisation. It feels like these two were just put in a car and told to “go at it.”

Again, this would be all well and good if the action sequences actually brought an appropriate amount of excitement to the movie. Sadly, they do not. For the first part of the movie, Jane drives that rinky dink smart car, which makes the movie come across less like a major motion picture and more like some tourist’s footage of the Light, Motor, Action stunt show from their last vacation at Walt Disney World. (Seriously, the car might as well be a wind-up.) But even when the characters’ upgrade their getaway wheels halfway through the movie, the tempo doesn’t change. It’s the same bland car chase, over and over again. They all look like they take place in the same anonymous industrial park/boat yard/parking lot, with little variety in terms of staging or camerawork. These might be the least lively car chases in the history of Australian cinema.

What makes this even more depressing is that “Drive Hard” was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith , an affable, wacky Australian filmmaker who, in his heyday, was responsible for low-budget, high-impact genre fare like “ Dead End Drive-In ,” “ Turkey Shoot ” (which was remade recently), and “ BMX Bandits ” (a film that starred a young, blank-faced Nicole Kidman ). Trenchard-Smith knows how to do this shit. Or at least knew how to do this shit. At some point, however (maybe it was around the time he made back-to-back “ Leprechaun ” installments), the filmmaker lost his mojo, and even when given the blank canvas to play with something like “Drive Hard,” he’s not able to turn it into anything even remotely special.

You can tell that nobody was very invested in making “Drive Hard.” Beyond the limp car chases, the fact that Cusack is so fully concealed, with his hat and glasses covering most of his face, shows you that he had no interest in anyone being able to read his emotions (something that is quite relevant when acting ). Jane, for his part, is just a frantic weirdo, with his hair a long, stringy tangle. This movie is made up of so few moving parts that it’s hard to pick out what’s good and bad about it. Instead, it’s just a bore, barely registering as a movie (visually, it looks more like an USA cable series), which is a shame, because with the oddball cast and somewhat notable director, it could have been fun and trashy. Instead, it’s just forgettable. [D]

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Drive Hard (2014)

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A former race car driver is abducted by a mysterious thief and forced to be the wheel-man for a crime that puts them both in the sights of the cops and the mob.

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This Simple, Honest 2021 Masterpiece Just Landed on Max

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Find any list of the best films of 2021, or the 2020s decade for that matter, and you're more than certain to find Drive My Car sitting in the upper echelon. Some films, like Ryusuke Hamaguchi 's sobering drama about a grief-ridden actor and playwright, transcend the medium of cinema and represent the purest distillation of art. Crediting any film with the artfulness of a painting sounds like an audacious, if not pretentious, claim, but Hamaguchi's masterpiece actively searches the soul. While it's easy to find the prospect of watching Drive My Car , a 3-hour emotional odyssey about life and death , overwhelmingly daunting, the film is rooted in honesty and simplicity, making these lofty ideas accessible to all audiences. Any viewer with a pulse ought to feel something and subsequently force them to reflect on their own lives.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi Explores How to Overcome Grief in 'Drive My Car'

Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi first gained international acclaim for his films Happy Hour and Asako I & II . His films miraculously tap into raw human psychology without any pretense. Through a slow-burn pace and intense fixation on behavior nuances, Hamaguchi is an artist born to move people with his images. Drive My Car , the story of a renowned stage actor and director who copes with the death of his wife while directing an adaptation of Anton Chekhov 's Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima, was the culmination of Hamaguchi's work. Nominated for four Oscars at the 94th Academy Awards , including Best Picture (the first Japanese film to earn the honor), Best Director, and Best International Feature (which it won), its acclaim among the awards body was a positive indicator of the Academy's mission to diversify its voting pool in the last ten years.

Yusuke Kafuku ( Hidetoshi Nishijima ) is an artist living in Tokyo whose heart and mind control his creative direction. Upon having sex with his wife, Oto ( Reika Kirishima ), his mind unlocks and conceives a new story. This relationship between love and art could theoretically carry the weight of a narrative, but Oto suddenly dies from a brain hemorrhage. Overcome with grief, and lost in an emotional wilderness, he goes for a drive when, in a bold cinematic flex, Hamaguchi drops the opening credits 40 minutes into the film , showing that Yusuke's life is only beginning . Now residing in Hiroshima, he accepts a for-hire gig to direct a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya . The theater's insurance stipulates that he must be driven to the stage in his own car by a chauffeur, Misaki Watari ( Toko Miura ). As he rides in the backseat of his red Saab, Yusuke learns his lines by listening to tapes of Oto orating Uncle Vanya .

Ryusuke Hamaguchi Masters the Art of Slow-Burn Drama in 'Drive My Car'

Ryusuke Hamaguchi is no stranger to 3+ hour slow-burn dramas ( Happy Hour runs at a whopping 5 hours and 17 minutes). Drive My Car demonstrates his compassionate sensibilities for drama and human growth. Naturally, Western audiences who erroneously believe that international cinema is dull and inaccessible will be tempted to write the film off as just fodder for highbrow critics. At the film's respective Academy Awards, there was a push for more popcorn-friendly crowd favorites to receive proper recognition from voters, but anyone who bothered to give Drive My Car a shot was rewarded with a touching and poetic exploration of how we grapple with unshakable feelings of loss . As arcane as the subject appears on the surface, a reticent playwright adapting a Chekhov production that unfolds with no clear resolution, Hamaguchi tells the story close to the heart. The passionate but authentic complex that dominates Yusuke's day-to-day life is an evergreen concept not bound by one nationality or culture.

Drive My Car is a masterclass in slow-burn cinema and is a subgenre with risky aspirations. In the wrong hands, deliberately paced cerebral exercises could fall for redundant and re-heated tropes about trauma. Luckily, Hamaguchi's assured direction allows the vast runtime to breathe and reveal new layers to Yasuke throughout the Uncle Vanya production . The methodical pacing lulls the viewer into the unknowable but shrewd mind of the protagonist. You begin to interpret the surrounding world in the film through the same lens as him, where his environment acts as a stand-in for a stage play to exercise his personal demons. Despite existing in contemporary, everyday life, the film slowly takes on an unnatural likeness, which manifests because Yasuke is incapable of separating reality from his craft. In a stroke of dramatic genius by Hamaguchi, Yasuke's life and art don't necessarily imitate each other , but rather, they are shown as foils that both embrace and combat with each other.

'Drive My Car' Is Fueled by a Poetic and Simple Narrative

When praising a powerhouse artistic achievement like Drive My Car , it's easy to rely on grandiose statements in one's criticism, as analyzing emotional complexities is in the fabric of the Yasuke character. Still, neglecting to celebrate the beautiful simplicity of Hamaguchi's film would be a grave disservice to its seismic emotional impact. With a story consisting of mundane activities, scheduling appointments, driving to work, and auditioning and rehearsing the play, Drive My Car focuses on the banality of life wistfully. The bond that Yasuke and his driver, Misaki, develop while transporting him to the stage transpires through naturalism. By the nature of being in a confined space, they reveal repressed secrets and confessions, as Misaki gradually breaks the playwright out of his own shadow. The level of economical storytelling in Hamaguchi's direction is impeccable. He demonstrates that all we need in life is someone to supply us with empathy. In a naturalistic and unobtrusive metaphor, Misaki controlling Yasuke's mode of transportation underlines his insatiable desire for a guide in his cyclical life.

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When a loved one dies, one becomes so overwhelmed with grief that they lose sight of reality. The cruelty of having Oto pulled away from him made Yasuke interpret life as an uninterpretable void, which is why the multilingual production of Uncle Vanya , featuring Japanese, English, Mandarin, and even Korean Sign Language, was ideal for his mental state. He can't make sense of the nature of life, and he characterizes that cryptic feeling by breaking the language barrier. Through body language and vocal tenor, Yasuke can not only make sense of the great unknown that is life following a tragic death but also demonstrate his grief behaviorally. Drive My Car is both a blistering portrait of the inescapable pain of reeling from a loss and a life-affirming statement about the potency of art as a vessel for universal expression and processing feelings locked inside one's soul. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's film is a required viewing not just to check off a box on the cinephile watchlist, but to receive a poetic glimpse at what acting out sorrow and remorse can provide humanity.

Drive My Car

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