Drive: Noir Conventions

The use of low key lighting is a convention of the noir genre. In the beginning of the clip, the face of the protagonist (portrayed by Ryan Gosling) is mainly covered with darkness, with only a few minor areas in light. This represents Gosling as having a hidden side to him and it shows he has secrets and guilt that he does not wish to reveal. The larger the proportion of his face in darkness, the more wickedness is within him. As Gosling's face is almost entirely in the dark it connotes that he is a negative character. When Gosling commits crimes, for example committing a murder in a motel bathroom, he leaves the shadows and momentarily his face is lit up, as if he feels that the crime he has just committed is acceptable. However he soon physically retreats back into the shadows until his entire body is engulfed with darkness as the guilt and self doubt settles in. This is another convention of noir films as the protagonist often has a physical or mental flaw. In this case Gosling has a lack of confidence following his actions and feels guilty and remorseful despite constantly commiting crimes.

Ryan Gosling's facial expression also shows this flaw. He constantly has a featureless and emotionless face with a dull stare and no smile. This shows he is constantly thinking and worrying, and also that he suffers from depression. It also shows Gosling's constant    with regard to the people he has became involved with. 

One of the technical conventions of noir films are non-linear structures. In Drive flashbacks are used to give further detail on situations and regarding characters' lives and personalities. Whilst Ryan Gosling is eating a meal with the characters portrayed by Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Kaden Leos, the scene cuts to a flashback with a conversation featuring Gosling and Isaac. This informs the audience of what has occurred and gives them a context for what happens next, which is a scene with Gosling stealing a car and proceeding to act as the getaway driver for a crime committed by Oscar Isaac's character. The use of a non-linear structure is to give the movie depth and information over a longer period of time.