The Driver, 1978.
Written and Directed by Walter Hill.
Starring Ryan O’Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani and Ronee Blakley.
SYNOPSIS:
The Driver is the cat and mouse story of a professional wheelman (Ryan O’Neal) and the eccentric cop (Bruce Dern) who has become obsessed with putting his man behind bars.
This was my first time watching The Driver and even though it’s over 35 years old, this Walter Hill directed classic easily stands the test of time. It’s impressive not just because it holds, but because you can clearly feel its influence on pretty every car chase movie since. The obvious example being the Nicholas Winding Refn thriller Drive due to its lead characters being almost identical, as well as the opening scenes sharing a distinct familiarity.
It’s not just Drive though, The Driver’s influence can be felt on everything from The Fast and the Furious and The Transporter, all the way to Get Shorty and the Bourne franchise – whether these are all positive is up to you.
However, what really sets The Driver apart from all the rest of the pack is its style. Drawing on his love of westerns and French New Wave as well as the visual motifs of artist Edward Hopper, Walter Hill produced something which combines balls-out machismo and a pared-back style which many films try to capture yet few accomplish.
The style of the movie is epitomised in the final showdown as The Driver stalks another wheelman in a huge warehouse. Both men creeping the cars around – one trying to escape, the other trying to claim his prize. It’s a simple scene but is so well shot, performed and scored that it is nearly faultless. Simply put, this scene is truly an edge-of-the-seat experience as it manages to build a level of tension that very few thrillers could even come close to.
Unfortunately, as stylish as this neo-noir is, you find yourself at times waiting for the next car chase instead of really paying attention to the story on the screen. Dern and O’Neal aren’t at fault for this as they embody their characters marvellously, yet I couldn’t help feel that the story had taken a back seat to the visual flair of the chase scenes.
This may be a harsh criticism as the story tells you everything you need to know. It’s just that apart from our two leads, there’s very little character development for the rest of the cast. You could argue that this improves the picture as it aims the focus of the story completely at the rivalry between our leads however if a little more attention had of been paid to the supporting cast, it could have been a much more well-rounded movie.
All in all though, The Driver is a slick and stylish thriller that deserves to be watched not only for the entertainment it can provide, but for the influence it’s had on film since its release. Easily one of the best collections of screeching car chases and square-jawed machismo that you could ever hope to find.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Ozzy Armstrong is a Stargate and Rocky superfan. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published July 14, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
