[8]

Ryan Gosling channels his inner Eastwood in this stylish thriller about a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver. The combination of Hossein Amini’s emotionally restrained script and Nicolas Winding Refn’s visceral direction are a winning combination, boosted tremendously by Newton Thomas Sigel’s crisp, colorful cinematography and Cliff Martinez’s minimalist, evocative score. Gosling’s screen presence can never be disputed after this film. Like Eastwood, he’s able to hold the screen (and our interest) with the subtlest of gestures and scant few lines of dialogue. He’s supported by a fine list of actors, including Carey Mulligan as an understated love interest, Ron Perlman as a hot-headed adversary, and Albert Brooks as a cold-blooded mastermind. It’s especially a thrill to see Brooks at work here, playing so against his avuncular type it will make your head spin. The film has every opportunity to fall apart, to nose-dive into cliches and formula, but it stays remarkably fresh to the very end.

Oscar Nomination: Sound Editing