There seems to be a lot of discussion revolving around the character of Driver, and what he did in the movie. Whether he was right in the head, autistic, or even a psychopath. And the truth is that it can be interpreted multiple ways, none of which is more or less inaccurate than the one before. That’s why I put ‘theory’ in the title.
Anyways, I’ve watched/read all of Gosling’s and Refn’s interviews on ‘Drive’ that I could find. There are a few bullet points which keep popping up consistently in each one;
* The Driver was created as a mythological superhero, one who wears his jacket and gloves as a costume.
NOTE: This makes a lot of sense. If you notice, the Driver wears his Levi’s trucker jacket under the Scorpion one. You could say that the Levi’s outerwear piece is the equivalent of Clark Kent’s suit or Peter Parker’s high school hoodie. Driver uses it to blend in with the rest of the crowd at the end of the beginning car chase, as the Scorpion one would be too easy to spot (as would Superman’s tights and Peter Parker’s Spidey outfit).
* The character of the Driver has been influenced by several different movie icons including The Man with No Name.
NOTE: This is no coincidence because the reason Driver works as a movie stuntman is because he FEELS his whole life is a movie. As said in an interview, he doesn’t belong to the world he’s in. He’s an anomaly trying to find his place in an environment that is alien to him. In my opinion, ‘Drive’ portrays how a mythological hero (Driver) would interact with a realistic world. Which brings me to…
* There is a consistent theme of what are the makings of a ‘hero’. A hero in the mythological sense is almost always someone who deals in extreme violence to resolve the damsel in distress’ issues, whereas heroes in real life don’t usually engage in such behavior.
NOTE: This is the meat of this theory and I suspect Driver’s character as well. College’s ‘A Real Hero’ plays several times during the movie with lines like ‘a real human being… and a real hero’. There’s a huge significance there. Driver operates as a mythological hero, because that’s who he feels like in the world he’s in, except it’s portrayed as a realistic one – a sharp contrast to his character. Hence there’s almost a darkly satirical undertone to the violence in the movie, as with every brutal act, Driver seems to fail at not just appealing to Irene, but outright frightens her.
These three points are all connected by Driver’s destiny to be a ‘hero’. However, as it would be in real life, his mythological nature does not jibe well with the other, ordinary characters. At one point Driver asks Bernie over the phone if he’s ever heard the story of the Scorpion and the Frog.
The story is simple enough; a scorpion decides it wants to go against its nature and explore places not meant for it. The scorpion stumbles upon a frog which it goads into giving him a ride across the river. The mentality scorpion uses to convince the frog is not a completely nonsensical one; if the frog gets stung by the scorpion at any point during their trip, the latter will drown along with the first. However, halfway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog who demands to know why had it done such a thing. The scorpion helplessly replies;
“I could not help myself. It is my nature.”
That’s the key to Driver’s functionality. He is an alien to our world and he cannot fight his own nature. That’s why violence comes so easily to him, and why he’s so efficient at it. He is simply put – otherworldly. If there’s a character arc to him, it’s that in the beginning the Driver can differentiate between movies and reality, while at the end that distinction disappears.
And now for the ending. Having lost Shannon, the only person in his life who truly made him feel like he had a place on Earth, the Driver decides it’s time to stop pretending that he’s human anymore. He goes on to kill Nino and Bernie. The mask he dons when the Driver kills Nino is not worn for its tactical significance as much as it is for theatricality. He also never takes off his bloody jacket because of the acceptance of his nature. We first see Driver looking into the diner with it to further signify his isolation from his environment. Here’s a pretender looking in at a party where everyone seems to be having a great time. Driver watches with fascination and curiosity at their behavior. Then after crashing Nino’s car, the Driver wears his ‘costume’ because he wants Nino to actually SEE him for the first time, his real self, his true nature – a hero, a demigod, a freak. It’s this realization which cements the fact that the Driver has not become anything more than he already was, but is rather simply following his destiny. And that’s the first time Nino is scared *beep* and no longer tries to fight but to flee.
Later on, the Driver walks into the restaurant to meet with Bernie, who notices the Driver wearing the same bloody jacket. After the altercation in the parking lot, the Driver sits in his car seat looking on while College’s ‘A Real Hero’ plays in the background. Then, the Driver blinks and continues on. This is not meant to symbolize his death in any way, but to let us know that the Driver is still the mythological hero he was since his birth/creation. Lost in a world where his only medium for having purpose are movies, pop songs, and dangerous crime endeavors, the Driver resigns to his fate. He leaves Irene (without the money she didn’t want in the first place) because he knows he’ll never have a place with her after the elevator episode. She knows too much about him. And so, the Driver continues onwards to the next city where he can either begin anew and try to resist his nature(also referenced in the song ‘Oh My Love’, an action the Scorpion failed to do), or succumb to it (which would lead him to his eventual demise as it did the Scorpion). That is the cliffhanger.
Anyways, those are just some thoughts. Of course, everything's open to interpretation. I simply love this movie and this theory was born out of it. No pretentiousness or condescension intended.
