Synopsis:
This fanedit completely removes Irene from the film and refocusses the story on the Driver's conflict with the Los Angeles mob.
Intentions:
While I enjoy the film Drive, I thought it would be interesting to see how the film flowed without the romance angle. The tone is significantly altered as a result of this change, and the Driver comes across as a more villainous and somewhat psychopathic character.
Change List:
*Cut all scenes with Irene in them with 2 exceptions. 1) the second scene of the film where the Driver passes her on the way to the elevator, but there is no interaction between them. 2) a brief shot of her from behind talking to the police after the Driver calls and Benicio (Irene's son) picks up the phone. *When the Driver finds Standard beaten up by Cook, the scene is cut earlier before the Driver walks by him to Benicio. In this version of the film, the Driver & Standard are friends, which is why the Driver helps him, so it wouldn't make sense for him to walk past his friend instead of helping him. *Standard is still in the film, but all mention of his wife or scenes involving her are cut. *Shannon, Bernie and the Driver do not mention Irene in any of their conversations. *The scene where the Driver kills the hitman is significantly cut down and intercut with the Driver arguing with Shannon. *The Driver's argument with Shannon is because the former is angry at the latter revealing his location to Nino, not because Shannon mentioned Irene to Nino. *Cut scene between Nino, Bernie and Cook where they discuss the failed hit and the East Coast mob rivalry. *Cut scenes where Bernie kills Shannon, and the Driver finds Shannon dead. Instead, Shannon leaves town, as instructed by the Driver. *The Driver decides to kill Nino after Nino sends a hitman after him, not because of Shannon dying. That seemed to be what he was going to do anyway before Shannon was killed, meaning Shannon's death was unimportant to the plot. *Cut the scene where the Driver gets the mask from his stuntman job. *The Driver agrees to meet Bernie, so that he can kill Bernie, not because of the threats towards Irene.
Additional Notes:
I cut nearly every shot of Irene and scene she was in, along with every mention of her. I also cut a couple other scenes that streamline the plot so that the focus on the Driver.
Special Thanks:
TM2YC for their review and approval.