The song that convinced Ryan Gosling to make ‘Drive’
There are a few independent movies that changed the face of modern cinema forever. Just look at the 1992 Quentin Tarantino crime flick Reservoir Dogs, Steven Soderbergh’s erotic 1989 film Sex, Lies, and Videotape or Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive from 2011, starring Ryan Gosling, a trio of films that would forever change the course of the industry, magnetising legions of fans from across the world.
Considering Tarantino and Soderbergh’s movies were released before the turn of the new millennium, arguably, no film has done more for independent cinema than Refn’s Drive. Based on the novel of the same name by James Sallis, the movie stars Gosling as a nameless stunt driver who gets caught up with local gangsters after helping his neighbour’s husband rob a bank.
Oozing with style, the film was the product of the Danish film director and screenwriter, who had previously helmed the Pusher trilogy, as well as 2008’s Bronson, starring Tom Hardy, and 2009’s historical action flick Valhalla Rising. With minimal dialogue, Refn prioritised atmosphere and style, creating iconic costumes as well as a soundtrack that is still played on repeat by fans across the world to this very day.
Thanks to such songs as ‘Nightcall’ by Kavinsky and ‘A Real Hero’ by Electric Youth, the film’s soundtrack has helped the movie become timeless. It was fitting, then, that it was one particular song that got Gosling onboard the project in the first place.
“That was a very strange date,” Refn said of his first meeting with the actor during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, “We had never met, but he asked if I would meet him for dinner. The only dilemma was when I came in, I had gotten the flu on the plane. I was very sick. And so we met, but to get my fever down, I had gotten these anti-flu drugs…it made me high as a kite”.
So high that Refn was barely able to finish his food before Gosling drove him home, during their car ride, the director concluded his pitch with a singalong to REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’. The song was the final piece of inspiration Gosling needed to take on the role, with the rest becoming part of the history of modern cinema.
Take a listen to the song that sparked the creation of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 film Drive below.
