When her debt-ridden husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), is released from prison, the two men take part in what turns out to be a botched million-dollar heist that endangers the lives of everyone involved.

Newton Thomas Sigel oversaw the principal photography, which started on September 25, 2010, was shot on location in Los Angeles, and ended on November 12.

His jobs are all managed by auto shop owner Shannon, who persuades Jewish-American mobster Bernie Rose and his half-Italian partner Nino "Izzy" Paolozzi to purchase a stock car for the Driver to race as a legitimate business for them all.

Standard owes protection money and is assaulted by Albanian gangster Chris Cook, who demands that he rob a pawn shop for $40,000 to pay off the debt.

[7] The Driver intrigued Siegel because he was "the kind of character you rarely see anymore — he was a man with a purpose; he was very good at one thing and made no apologies for it".

[5] A film adaptation of Drive was first announced in early 2008, with Neil Marshall set to direct what was being described as "an L.A.-set action mystery", planned as a starring vehicle for Hugh Jackman.

[10] In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Gosling was asked what had attracted him to the film, and whether he had read the earlier script when Jackman and director Neil Marshall were attached to it.

"[12][13] When Refn read the first screenplay for Drive, he was more intrigued by the concept of a man having a split personality, being a stuntman by day and a getaway driver at night, than the plot of the story.

In an interview, he said he intended for this scene to emulate the feeling of a "diver in an ocean of sharks," and never left the vehicle during the car chase so that the audience can see what's happening from the character's point of view.

I realized I needed to show in one situation that Driver is the hopelessly romantic knight, but he's also completely psychotic and is willing to use any kind of violence to protect innocence.

[35] Consistent with Refn's usual visual style, wide-angle lenses were used extensively by cinematographer Sigel, who avoided hand-held camera work.

The parts of the city seen in the Valley and near downtown Los Angeles are cheap stucco and mirrored glass; the film excludes buildings constructed more recently.

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon magazine described Drive as a "classic Los Angeles heist-gone-wrong story," that "isn't trying to outdo Bullitt or get the next assignment in The Fast and the Furious franchise".

[45] Steven Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times examined themes in the characters of "loyalty, loneliness and the dark impulses that rise up even when we try our hardest to suppress them".

[27][46] Reuters' Nick Vinocur described a series of comic gore, resulting in "a bizarre concoction ... reminiscent of David Lynch's Mulholland Drive ... Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and [with] angst-laden love scenes that would not be out of place in a Scandinavian drama".

[25][47] Christopher Hawthorne, also from the Los Angeles Times, has compared it to the works of Walter Hill, John Carpenter, Nathanael West, J. G. Ballard, and Mike Davis.

[39] Amini's script imposes "a kind of sideways moral code," where even those who comply with it are almost never rewarded for their efforts, as seen when The Driver helps Standard because of concern for Irene and her son.

[27] The Driver has been compared to the Man with No Name, a character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, because he almost never speaks, communicating mostly non-verbally.

[37] The Driver's wardrobe, in particular the satin jacket with the logo of a golden scorpion on the back, was inspired by the band Kiss, and Kenneth Anger's 1964 experimental film Scorpio Rising.

[51] Drive would later serve as a major influence for many elements of the 2012 game Hotline Miami, including the minimalist plot, the protagonist, use of dialogue, portrayal of violence, and visual/musical style.

[56] Prior to that, owing to viral reviews such as those found on Twitter, the soundtrack sold well on iTunes, climbing as high as number four on the sales charts.

[62] A re-scored soundtrack for the film was produced for the BBC by Zane Lowe for its television broadcast in October 2014, which included original music from Chvrches, Banks, Bastille, Eric Prydz, SBTRKT, Bring Me the Horizon, The 1975 and Laura Mvula.

That same month, Johnny Jewel, College, Electric Youth, and Cliff Martinez discussed the impact of the soundtrack and film on their lives and contemporary music culture.

[23] The owners were so eager to get their hands on Drive, that they started negotiating to buy it before seeing any footage, believing it could appeal to people who enjoy a genre movie, as well as the arthouse crowd.

[48] Brooks explained that "[I]t's too self-consciously retro, too much a series of cool, blank surfaces as opposed to a rounded, textured drama," but said that it was his "guilty pleasure" of the 2011 competition, labeling it an enjoyable affair.

The site's critical consensus states, "With its hyper-stylized blend of violence, music, and striking imagery, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.

[90] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, declaring that Drive was "a brilliant piece of nasty business," and that "Refn is a virtuoso, blending tough and tender with such uncanny skill that he deservedly won the Best Director prize at Cannes."

"[93] James Rocchi of The Playlist gave the film an "A" letter grade, and wrote that "Drive works as a great demonstration of how, when there's true talent behind the camera, entertainment and art are not enemies but allies.

"[99] Michael Philips of the Chicago Tribune felt similarly, and said that although he enjoyed the film in the early sections, it became "one garishly sadistic set piece after another".

[100] In 2014, The Huffington Post included Drive on its list of 8 Movies From The Last 15 Years That Are Super Overrated, with Bill Bradley criticizing the low amount of dialogue by Gosling's character and writing that "Refn spends all 100 minutes trying to convince you that he has a cool iPod playlist.