Drive's Connection to Casablanca

At first glance, there appears to be very little similarity between 'Drive' and 'Casablanca'. The former is a 2011 aesthetically modern crime drama, while the latter is a 1942 black and white tragic love story. However, having seen both of these films over the last few months, I was surprised at the number of similarities I was able to notice between them. First, they both use very unique camerawork to convey a message about their characters. Casablanca makes use of extreme close-ups on its main characters, otherwise known as "money shots", to convey intense emotion during key dramatic scenes. Meanwhile, Drive uses intentional amounts of "talking space" between characters to show the current emotional relationship between them. When the driver and Irene feel sexual tension, and want to be closer to one another, the talking space between shots is eliminated or reduced, making it seem as though the two are close together despite being physically farther away. However, when the driver is upset about Standard's death, and feels his connection with Irene dwindling, the talking space is restored, thus signifying a distance, and disconnect between the two, despite the fact that they are standing close to one another. In addition, the endings of these two films are similar in their tragedy. 'Casablanca' ends with Rick sending Ilsa away with her husband so that she can support him in his important Nazi-resistance work, despite their admitted mutual love. This theme of sacrificing love in the name of the greater good is also present at the end of 'Drive', when the driver is forced to abandon Irene and the money in the name of both his and her safety, despite the fact that is is clear from the kissing scene that they love each other. Almost 70 years passed between the release of 'Casablanca' and 'Drive', but the themes and film techniques present in these two films are strikingly similar.