Watching "Drive" as a violence hating pillow watcher?

October 13, 2017 6:56 AM

I can watch violent movies and shows, if equipped with censor pillow or equivalent palm of hand. Can I watch Drive? When should my pillow be ready?

I'm not 100% incapable of watching violence. I can handle Game of Thrones, or what have you, because it's usually easy to know when to be on high alert: a sword comes out, stabby motions are made, I cover my face.

I could not handle Gladiator because I spent almost the entire time miserably glaring at the palm of my hand listening to people getting gutted. There was little movie to watch for me. Hostel was another serious mistake. Anything in the "horror" section is out of the question.

So, Drive. I want to watch it. The rating for violence spooks me. But I want to watch it. Is Drive feasible for me? Is it more violence than movie? Are we talking a couple super violent events in the whole movie, or a couple every 10 minutes?

If the number of violent incidents in this movie is below uh, let's say 5, otherwise I give up, could you please tell me the timing (time signature or otherwise) so I can feel secure in watching it?

posted by sacchan to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

It's a movie of two halves. The first is peaceful, but after the heist it gets veeery ugly, veeeeeeeeery fast.

I love that movie, but I'd skip it
posted by lmfsilva at 7:15 AM on October 13, 2017

Drive is kind of a weird one. The first half or so is pretty free of violence. There's tension and some things are implied, but there isn't anything on screen.

The second half of the movie is incredibly violent. I don't know what your threshold is (I don't watch Game of Thrones so I can't really compare them) but there are a number of scenes of graphic violence. I will not detail them here for you (feel free to MeMail me if you want more info), but there are multiple scenes, and they come at you pretty fast.

It's not the most graphic movie I've ever seen, and it's far, far "better" than the torture porn stuff like Hostel, but it's still very intense.

I'm not trying to oversell it or scare you away, but if one just casually caught any scene from the first half of the movie, one might think it was an awkward indie romance movie, and you wouldn't be far off, but it takes a hard turn.

I can't provide exact time stamps right now, but when the Driver agrees to a new job after about 30 minutes or so in, things pick up from that point onward.
posted by daisy55 at 7:22 AM on October 13, 2017

Drive is one of my very favorite movies, and violence doesn’t particularly bug me. That being said, I still hid my eyes at least once. I don’t have time stamps handy, but here are some points to look away (if you decide to watch it at all). These are all in the second half of the film.

-When you see the Driver’s male accomplice walk out of the pawn shop they’re robbing.
-When Christina Hendricks’ character walks into the bathroom of the safe house (this is the scene where I look away).
-The elevator scene with Irene and the Driver...or hell, basically everything after that.

Great movie, incredible soundtrack, but it pulls no punches with the violence.
posted by timetoevolve at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2017

If you don't mind reading descriptions of the violence, IMDb's Parents Guide can be super helpful. It does not provide timestamps, but you could skim and decide if it's worth it.
posted by cellojoe at 8:29 AM on October 13, 2017

It's a great movie but almost certainly not for you. You won't really be able to watch the end, which is all about a whole bunch of visceral, brutal violence that's calculated to surprise & shock. It's really masterful in that way -- it pulls you in, lulls you, and then when you're not expecting it, it turns around and hits you where it hurts. Listen to the soundtrack instead -- it's great and it won't give you nightmares!
posted by ourobouros at 10:03 AM on October 13, 2017

Cover your eyes for stuff involving elevators, bathrooms, and forks.
posted by delight at 2:19 PM on October 13, 2017

Yeah, just watch the opening scene or the first bit to enjoy the peaceful parts of the movie's visual aesthetic. I'm glad I saw that, but I've blocked out everything after a certain point.
posted by salvia at 3:37 PM on October 13, 2017

I hate violence in films, but I found Drive much better than GoT because it’s less exploitative - it’s realistic, horrifying violence, not cartoonish action movie violence. It’s a film which takes violence seriously, and shows that it has real consequences. The bathroom scene is shocking but over quickly, the elevator scene is sickening and deliberately goes on for far too long, way past the point of discomfort. But none of the violent people are shown as heroic. People recoil from them in the film.

There is an edited version out there! Still not PG, but probably closer to a 12 (I saw it on a flight one time).
posted by tinkletown at 3:45 PM on October 13, 2017

but it pulls no punches with the violence.

I think it would be fairer to say the violence is sucker-punched. It's one of the trademarks of the movie: in one moment it seems everything is ok, the next the scene turns into a coroners nightmare.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:08 PM on October 13, 2017

Thank you everybody: that's all really good info and I'm glad I asked because maybe this is not the movie for me. Or, at least, maybe the entire second half of the movie is not for me. I'll definitely listen to the soundtrack and maybe read the script.
posted by sacchan at 5:17 AM on October 15, 2017

I've skimmed the movie on one of those online things, and if you want the enjoy the gorgeous cinematography that went into it, I think it is violence free until 42 or so minutes in when Oscar Isaac's character get his ass beaten (off screen) in a parking lot just before the Driver appears, which sets in motion the violent bits of the movie that start around 50 mins in.

So, watch the first 40 minutes and then read the rest of the plot on Wikipedia?
posted by lmfsilva at 5:39 AM on October 17, 2017

Maybe I could read the script while listening and watching a pillow for the second half, leaving the violence watching to husband. Will update if I try to do this.
posted by sacchan at 6:57 AM on October 18, 2017