Poster © FilmDistrict. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction & Drama
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 40 mins
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2011
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorNicolas Winding Refn
StarringRyan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston
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Drive (2011)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Drive's Details | |
| Genre | Action & Drama |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 05/20/2011 (Cannes); 09/16/2011 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Budget | $15M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Drive by James Sallis |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Drive's Interests | |
| General | Scorpion jackets, toothpicks, LA freeways at night, driving gloves, hot pink cursive credits. |
| Music | Cliff Martinez, plus Kavinsky's 'Nightcall' and College's 'A Real Hero.' |
| Movies | Baby Driver (2017). Getaway driving, plus a playlist. Thief (1981), the moody night-job original. |
| Television | Knight Rider. A man, a car, considerably more conversation. |
| Heroes | Benicio. The only person who gets the Driver to crack a smile. |
| Drive's Crew | |
| Director | Nicolas Winding Refn |
| Writers | Hossein Amini |
| Producers | Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Gigi Pritzker, Michel Litvak, John Palermo |
| Cinematography | Newton Thomas Sigel |
| Music | Cliff Martinez |
| Edited By | Matthew Newman |
| Production | Bold Films, OddLot Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions, Motel Movies |
| Distributed By | FilmDistrict |
Ryan Gosling says about as much in Drive as his toothpick does, and the movie wants you to call that mystery. Sometimes it is. The Driver is a blank slate in a satin jacket, and Nicolas Winding Refn lets whole scenes drift by with him just staring at Carey Mulligan while synth music does all the talking. Then one elevator ride flips the movie from sweet to brutal in a single breath, and you realize the quiet was a warning. Albert Brooks, a man whose voice sounds like a cozy sweater, plays the scariest guy in it. Bryan Cranston limps around being lovable and in way over his head. Critics gave it 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, while opening crowds handed it a C minus CinemaScore, probably because they walked in expecting a racing movie and got an art gallery that occasionally explodes. An 8.1 because the style is so sharp it covers for a story you could fit on a napkin. $59 says you buy a satin jacket within a month and never once wear it outside.
What works: The elevator scene, Albert Brooks playing against every nice-guy role he ever had, and a synth soundtrack that makes night driving feel like a religion.
What doesn’t: The Driver is so blank that the romance runs on staring, and the story underneath the style is thin enough to see through.
Who it’s for: People who care more about how a movie feels than what happens in it, and anyone who has ever driven around at night with no destination.
Spoilers
Standard doesn’t survive the pawnshop job, and the Driver hunts down everyone tied to the stolen money. He meets Bernie in a parking lot, both get hurt, Bernie doesn’t get up, and the wounded Driver leaves the cash behind and drives off while Irene knocks on his empty apartment door.
A quiet guy known only as the Driver (Ryan Gosling) does car stunts for movies, fixes engines at Shannon's (Bryan Cranston) auto shop, and drives getaway cars at night with one strict rule about time. Shannon wants to put him in stock car racing, using money from mobster Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and his partner Nino (Ron Perlman). Meanwhile the Driver starts spending time with the woman next door, Irene (Carey Mulligan), and her little boy, Benicio, right before her husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) gets out of prison owing some dangerous people. Nicolas Winding Refn directs. One hundred minutes, one scorpion jacket.
Anyone who can keep a toothpick and a secret. Bring a satin jacket.
| Ryan Gosling | "The Driver" |
| Carey Mulligan | Irene Gabriel |
| Bryan Cranston | Shannon |
| Albert Brooks | Bernie Rose |
| Oscar Isaac | Standard Gabriel |
| Christina Hendricks | Blanche |
| Ron Perlman | Nino 'Izzy' Paolozzi |
| Kaden Leos | Benicio Gabriel |
| James Biberi | Chris "Cook" |
| Russ Tamblyn | Doc |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (776,641 votes) → 7.8 / 10 (776,728 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $79.8M; Domestic box office $35.1M; Opening weekend $11.3M; Profit / loss (est.) +$17.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 93%; CinemaScore C−; box office chart updated; RT 93% (275 reviews); Metacritic 79 / 100; CinemaScore C−; IMDb users 7.8 / 10 (776,641 votes); movie.guru score 7.5.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.