The Last Movie I Saw

Boy I really wanted to like the new movie Drive. Descriptions I'd read ahead of time made me think it might be a cool genre exercise like those Walter Hill used to make in the seventies and eighties (like the similarly named The Driver) Alas, Nicolas Winding Refn is no Walter Hill, and certainly no Quentin Tarantino (a name that came up in several reviews of the film). There is some good stuff in the movie-- notably the acting by Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, and especially Albert Brooks. Refn does exhibit some style in his direction (I particularly appreciated his ability to slow things down and avoid the kind of quick cutting that is way too ubiquitous in contemporary thrillers). But unfortunately, the good parts don't seem to be in the service of much of anything worthwhile. If there was some kind of payoff for the viewer who sits through this thing, I completely missed it. I guess the point might be that even a criminal can be a decent person, capable of compassion. But I'm not sure that the movie really comes down on the side of that conclusion, since I found it impossible to believe that the main character was ever acting out of anything but selfishness, often pursued in poorly thought out actions. Unlike Columbiana, which was so stupid that you could just give in and go along for the ride, Drive gives every indication that Refn has something more serious on his mind. But in the end, I'm at a loss to say what that might be, leaving me to think Drive is just as empty as that other movie.