Analysis of Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011)-By Connor Hilton

Analysis:

Figure 1:

We open with a shot of what appears to be a map with notes and arrows on it which indicates that the planning of a heist or crime is taking place. The lighting is low-key which adds a mysterious atmosphere to the shot. There is non-diegetic background music playing in the background that sounds typical for heist preparation.

Figure 2:

There is then a pan up to introduce a male character who is on the phone to somebody, we can also see the mans face in the reflection of the window. The characters are exchanging dialogue about the arrangements for the crime. The background music continues at the same pace indicating that nothing big is going to happen very soon.

As the camera continues to pan around it becomes clear that the man is in a hotel room.     When the camera has finished panning we

can see a bag on the bed that makes the audience question what could be in the bag and creates an enigma. The male character then tosses the phone onto the bed carelessly indicating that he is not going to keep it, he then picks up the bag and leaves the room. The lighting in the room is low-key but above the bag is very bright which indicates that they wanted the audience to focus on the bag.

Figure 3:

There is then a cut to an over the shoulder shot of the male character driving a car down a road. We can see the male characters face in the rear view mirror which indicates that the film makers want us to see the characters face and are not creating unnecessary mystery and enigma because too much can just make the sequence confusing. There is then a cut to a low angle of the male character with very low-key lighting. This helps 

create some mystery and adds to the atmosphere. The background music is very quiet with only a few constant beats just so that there is no silence and there is something to keep the shot interesting.

Figure 4:

There is then a cut to the male character meeting a new character who seems to be a mechanic. The two characters walk down the car garage and the camera follows with a pan. The lighting is dark on the camera's side of the room but bright on the other side of the room. When the characters reach the end of the garage the car that the male character is picking up is very different compared to the other cars in the garage. The male character then gets in the car and the mechanic leaves the room.      

Figure 5:

There is then an establishing shot of a city area to show us that it is night and to show us where the male character is at the time. 

We then cut to a close up of the cars rear view mirror in which we can see the male character's face, this is using the same technique as before and allows them to show the road and the 

character's face. The lighting is dark and the

background music is beginning to build up to something. We then cut to a close up of the characters face.  We then see the car pull up beside a fence and the male character looks at two men. The editing is at a very slow pace and matches the action on screen.

Figure 6:

There is then a close up of the man setting his watch as he is going to leave if the men don't get out of the building within 5 minutes. He then sets his radio to listen in on the police reports. The male character is chewing on a toothpick to display that he is waiting and to keep him calm. After some time we see one of the masked men enter the vehicle and there is a delay while they are waiting for the other masked man to enter the vehicle.

The sequence then ends just after the car pulls over to hide from the police and the car headlights turn off. There is a feeling of relief when the second masked man exits the building as otherwise they would of had to leave him and he could of been caught by the police. The relief is accompanied by the music slowing down to indicate the suspense is over.

To conclude, I feel that the opening to drive is very intense and full of suspense. The close up shots add mystery and the fact that the main character doesn't have much dialogue adds to the mysterious feel that a thriller should have. I also feel that the background music was very effective and added suspense very effectively.