Thought of The Day 37

So what did you think of that?

Drive?

Yes.

I was surprised.

You were?

I was.

How?

Well I went to the cinema a week ago and picked up their programme, saw that they were showing a film called Drive, I read the synopsis and thought – nah.

So why did you go and see it?

Well, a few days later I was reading last weeks paper and there was a review of the Toronto Film Festival.

Why did you read that? You live miles away.

I know someone who lives there and I wondered if they were sitting in a darkened cinema enjoying it.

Who?

Mary.

A-ha!

What’s that meant to mean?

You know very well.

Don’t .

Do so!

Do so? How old are you?

Never mind; so did the review of the TFF make you go to see Drive.

It did.

Why?

It described it as a “propulsive thriller” and I like thrillers and I was happy to find out what propulsive meant.

What does it mean?

I don’t know – let’s look it up?

Ok………..

Propriety, proprioceptor, proptosis………

Are you feeling ok?

Yes, hang on… here it is propulsive!

What does proptosis mean?

Er… the forward displacement of an organ, such as the eyeball.

Can you do that?

If you’re over 18 and then only in certain countries.

And propulsive?

You can do that anywhere.

No I mean, what is a propulsive thriller?

Ah, sorry, so… one that has a propelling force.

As all good thrillers should have I would think. Did Drive?

I guess it did.

So why were you surprised?

Well, there ‘s a play station game called Drive, though as I say that maybe it was called Driver, and I thought the film would be a celluloid version of that, especially as at the beginning of the film we are in a car waiting for the cops to chase us.

I just looked it up – It’s Driver.

Ah, anyway, the film Is based on a book – not a play station game and in fact there isn’t a lot of car chase in the film.

What is there then?

A love story.

Ah – you like love stories don’t you?

I might do.

Is there anything else in the film?

Yes, unfortunately.

Unfortunately?

It gets pretty violent.

Pretty?

No; ugly. There were four scenes where I just had to close my eyes.

Blood?

Buckets of it, crunches too.

Shame.

Yeah, especially the scene in the lift where he finally gets to kiss the girl, it starts so beautifully, lit as if the sun was shining inside the building, a kiss that lingered and made me hungry for just such a kiss, and then violence exploded.

Could you see it coming?

Yes, so you could just watch the kiss and close your eyes to the violence.

Some people say you should always close your eyes when you kiss.

And some folk keep their eyes open.

Some people say the eyes are the mirrors of the soul.

Kiss and submerge into the soul.

Are we still talking about the film?

Probably not, but it was a key scene as the transition of the main character is completed here and the kiss is goodbye.

Did you like this film or just the kiss?

What more do you need?

Plot, characters, good camera work.

The lighting was good, I told you that already, the main character looked so much like my niece’s boyfriend that I found it a bit weird, especially when he got violent.

What about the car chases.

That’s the thing. There was the surprise. It wasn’t the usual smash them up chase.

No?

No, very subtle. Stops, hiding, slipping away unseen – very smoooooth.

Cool.

Yep, in fact, since I saw the film my driving has changed; it’s become smoooooth.

Cool.

Yep, now, if I can just find that kiss!