Based on the book by James Sallis and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, this 100-minute film could have been 20 minutes shorter. There are too many affectionate shots of Ryan Gosling's profile (and his long eye- lashes) in endless drives on anonymous California streets. Okay, okay. I admit it's artistic, and it really DID set a mood that lingered....
- Ryan Gosling ("Crazy, Stupid, Love") is a mechanic and a movie stunt driver by day and a freelance getaway driver by night. A contract is put out on our taciturn hero after a heist goes bad.
- Carey Mulligan ("Never Let Me Go") is his neighbor. She works in a diner and is raising her little boy alone because her husband is serving time in jail.
- Bryan Cranston ("Larry Crowne") is Gosling's employer. He customizes cars and books jobs for his crackerjack employee.
- Albert Brooks ("The In-Laws") is a crime lord who wants to enter Gosling in a high-stakes road race.
- Ron Perlman ("Hellboy") is the crook who puts out the contract on Gosling, along with that pretty neighbor and her son.
- Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men") is a stripper planted by the mob for that bad heist.
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