The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 2011 Page: 9 of 16
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ENTERTAINMENT.
9
Tm
Drive a speedy thrill
• with intellectual edge
byChristineJeon
FortheThresher
Drive
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Starring: Ryan Gosling,
Carey Mulligan
Rated: R
Released: Sept. 16
Although from the
surface Drive may seem
like your typical, car-
chase blockbuster, it will
easily be on top of critics'
movie lists for September.
Drive, the 2011 action-
drama film, follows what
happens to this character
when he involves himself
in a heist that's about to
go wrong. Directed by
Danish film director Nich-
olas Winding Refn (who
received the Best Director
Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for Drive), the film stars Ryan
Gosling (The Notebook) and English actress Carey Mulligan (An Edu-
cation), who both deliver superb performances in making the melo-
dramatic film realistic and believable.
"If 1 drive for you, you give me a time and a place, I give you a
five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm
yours, no matter what. I don't sit in while you're running it down, I
don't carry a gun. I drive," the nameless wheelman said. However,
he's not just driving a car, he's helping someone with a heist. The
nameless character Gosling portrays seems to have quietly settled in
Los Angeles as part mechanic, part Hollywood car stuntman since
his last drive. You almost forget that the guy is a wheelman until he
meets his neighbor Irene (Mulligan) and her son, Benicio, played
by first time actor Kaden Leos. Irene's husband has gotten himself
tangled up in a high-stake burglary, and the wheelman decides to
"drive" once again so that Irene's family can be at peace. The film fol-
lows what happens when the convoluted heist goes wrong.
Gosling's portrayal of the wheelman is nothing short of per-
fection. Despite his lack of dialogue in the film, Gosling somehow
manages to keep you on board with his very much concealed and
emotionless character. Mulligan, like her co-star, does a great job
portraying the quiet character but probably won't get the acclaim I
1 s fi~
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predict Gosling will receive. The rest of the cast is comprised of ac-
tors that play stereotypical roles you'd expect from an action movie
— conspirators, mobsters, flawless gunmen.
Drive definitely has its bold but over-the-top moments, with
its gory visuals matching those of Quentin Tarantino, but it also
has the cinematographic brilliance that can be found in Christo-
pher Nolan's Inception (Drive will appeal to fans of both direc-
tors). The unconventional yet pronounced lighting and sound
techniques will challenge the mind artistically, while the dra-
matic scenes filled with bloodshed and butchery will lead the
fainthearted to shut their eyes.
Yet what really makes the film is not its stars, director or cin-
ematography. Rather, it is the underlying message the movie
highlights. The film references a fable, The Scorpion and the Frog.
A scorpion asks a frog to carry him across the river, but the frog
worries the scorpion will sting him. The scorpion tells the frog
that if he stings it, they will both die for the frog will have sunk.
So the frog agrees and carries the scorpion across the river. De-
spite his promise, the scorpion stings the frog, and when asked
why, he replies that it's simply in his nature. So you might won-
der, why does the scorpion exist then? What drives it to live?
Drive essentially follows what might happen if the scor-
pion does have something to live for. Does it change, or does
it return to its natural habits? Beneath the surface, Drive's
art, sound, light and actors all strive to answer this very
question through Refn's vision. The film is an exhilarating
ride that explores human nature. Its action might not ex-
ceed the highest standards, but it will invite you to question
what it means to live for something, or if it even matters or
one to live.
Limelight: the Rice Players' season
Sonia Pothraj
Self-described as "(mostly) quality theatre
since 1951," the Rice Flayers, a completely student-
run group, is gearing up for another great year of
performances.
Houston's oldest collegiate theater troupe and
one of the more experimental organizations at
Rice, the Rice Players draws students from across
campus and from all courses of study. The organi-
zation has consistently offered Houston audiences
historical classics and modern novelties.
Two of this year's directors, Wiess Col-
lege senior T.J. Burleson and Joseph Lockett
(Hanszen '93), expressed excitement for their up-
coming plays, Dead Man's Cell Phone and The Bal-
timore Waltz, respectively.
Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone is de-
scribed by Charles Isherwood of the New York
Times as a work that "blends the mundane and
the metaphysical, the blunt and the obscure,
the patently bizarre and the bizarrely moving."
Opening Thursday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. in Hamman
Hall, the play is sure to appeal to a wide range
of audiences.
Though not opening until April, The Baltimore
Waltz is equally enthralling. Written by Paula
Vogel, the play is a dream sequence that allows
protagonist Anna to put the reality of her brother's
death from AIDs into perspective. Lockett has di-
rected twice in the recent past for the Rice Players:
Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest in
fall 2009 and David Auburn's Proof in fall 2007. He
has also directed several times for Baker Shake-
speare. As an alumni and a current Baker College
associate, Lockett has been involved with Rice for
quite some time.
As an undergraduate in the late 1980s, Lockett
first joined the Rice Players with little prior expe-
rience in theater. However, after taking classes,
observing, and working in shows, he was hooked.
Even after graduating, Lockett has remained deep-
ly involved with Rice.
"I keep coming back because I love working
with Rice students; Rice actors are clever, curious,
and hard-working. You can offer Rice students a
share in the creative work of putting a play togeth-
er, and they will happily leap into the fray once you
show them the boundaries," Lockett said.
Currently working in public relations, techni-
cal writing and adult training, Lockett's career
was definitely shaped by participating in the
Rice Players.
"Rice Players taught me that what I really enjoy
is communication; figuring out how to best convey
information. Obviously, that feeds into the educa-
tion work I've done, whether in designing lessons,
preparing materials or presenting to a classroom,
all of which benefit from an understanding of ef-
fective design, creative expression and crafting a
f/*
MATHISON INGHAM/THRESHER
Joseph Lockett and T.J. Burleson discussing the trials and benefits of directing the Rice Players.
strong message," Lockett said.
As a current undergraduate, Burleson's experi-
ence is relatively similar to Lockett's. Though Bur-
leson had a background in theater before college,
he too fell in love with Rice Players and is now the
troupe's managing coordinator. "I loved being in
my first few productions at Rice, and I realized at
the end of my freshman year that the students who
were directing shows weren't that different from
me. Naturally, I felt like trying it out for myself,"
Burleson said.
Though Burleson has yet to graduate, it ap-
pears that working with the Rice Players has
shaped his future ambitions. At present, he is con-
sidering advanced degrees in theater and educa-
tion at the university level.
"I think being a coordinator has been a great
learning experience, and potentially becoming a
professor of theater has everything to do with it. In
many ways, I plan my year around the shows that
I'll be doing, especially those with the Players. It
has also had lots of relevance to skills that every-
one needs and uses — effective communication,
time management and budgeting. Rice Players is
one of the best organizations I have ever been in-
volved with," Burleson said.
Sonia Pothraj is a Hanzsen College freshman.
Limelight is a column that features student
artists and their current projects.
ABBA
f
THE
WEEKLY
SCENE
Emily's picks for events
outside the hedges, both
arotind Rice and in the
Houston area, for this week.
Want to relive the '8os without
heading to Sid Rich? Check
out ABBA The Concert at the
Stafford Centre tonight and
tomorrow at 8 p.m. Pit tick-
ets are $85, but upper balcony
tickets are only $45.
Stafford Centre Theatre
10505 Cash Road, Stafford
WWW.STAFFORDCENTRE.COM
MUSEUM
For one day only, check out one
(or a few) of the 17 participating
museums on Museum District
Day! Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. enjoy free performances
and programs, like the CAMH's
close up look at an Art Car.
Museum District
WWN.HOUSTON MUSEUM DIS-
TRICT.ORG
DANCE
FILM
Do you dance? Are you too
uncoordinated to do anything
but fist pump? Either way,
check out Music That Should be
Danced at Miller Outdoor The-
ater tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets
are free.
Miller Outdoor Theater
6000 Hermann Park Drive
WWW.MILLEROUTDOORTHEATRE.COM
Live a little. Watch Ratatouille
tonight at 8 p.m. at Discovery
Green. Take this opportu-
nity to watch an old movie
in a new setting: in the grass
facing the Houston skyline.
Tickets are free.
Discovery Green
Labranch at Lamar
WWW. DISCOVERYG REEN. COM
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Rutenberg, Josh. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 99, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 2011, newspaper, September 16, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398526/m1/9/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.