What age is Drive appropriate for?

Rated R in the US. 17, alone or with a parent; 15 in France. The whole movie, watched in full: what's in it, and how to talk about it with your child.

Why is Drive not recommended under 17?

What's in it: the official rating, first; very raw bursts of violence; a hero who does not talk and kills; swearing, beer and cigarettes. The detail, fact by fact, is in the zinema guide, which reads the work itself (images, sound, dialogue).

zinema · movies · what age

Drive: what age is it for? 17, alone or with a parent

From 17, alone or with a parent.

Movie · 2011 · 1 h 40 · drama, thriller, crime

YRS

The trailer

Alone, or with you

89101112131415161718

not yetwith an adult, or to talk about afteralonethe sweet spot

The official US rating is R, and we never go below it. Alone from 17, and not before, even with an adult.

The sweet spot: around 17, when you like films that take their time, and can see what violence costs the one who protects. Why a sweet spot?

Official US rating: R. In France, zinema would say 15.

Watch the trailerContinue in zinemathen where to watch it, in zinema · more trailers, and where to watch films · Where to stream itWhere to watch

What it's about

Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.

Why 17

The official rating, firstRated R in the US (restricted, under 17 requires an accompanying parent); 12 ans in France. zinema never goes below the country's rating: it explains it.
rule
Very raw bursts of violenceThe film is slow, silent, almost tender for an hour, then the violence arrives all at once and in close-up: a skull crushed under a heel in an elevator, a fork in an eye, a hammer on fingers, a razor on a forearm, a head blown off by a shotgun in a motel. A minute and a half of central blood, in fixed shots.
A hero who does not talk and killsThe driver has no name, protects a neighbor and her little boy, and becomes a methodical killer when they are threatened; the film does not judge him. The neighbor's husband comes out of prison, and the child witnesses part of the threat.
Swearing, beer and cigarettesAround thirty swear words, bars, cigarettes, a strip club where the hero goes to find a man with a hammer, a brief bed scene.

What the movie brings

A genre film that takes its time: the music, the Los Angeles nights, a man who says nothing and is understood anyway.
The question of protective violence, how far it goes and what it costs the one who uses it.
A style your teenager will find everywhere afterwards, from music videos to series.

Watching it together

Before

Warn about the elevator scene, and watch it with them rather than leaving them alone: it is short, and it is the most violent in the film.

After

at 17 and up

The driver kills to protect Irene and her son, and loses them for that reason: did he have a choice?

See the facts

A weapon shown or used●●● · suggestedmeasured

Long dark scenes, night, storm●●● · shownmeasured

Swearing●●● · shownmeasured

A weapon shown or used●●○ · shownmeasured

Abandonment, separation, confinement●●○ · shownmeasured

Alcohol●●○ · shownmeasured

Death of a character●●○ · saidmeasured

Jump scares●●○ · shownmeasured

Kissing, romantic gestures●●○ · shownmeasured

Pace●●○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●●○ · shownmeasured

Tense music or sound●●○ · shownmeasured

Visible injury, blood●●○ · shownmeasured

A weapon shown or used●○○ · saidmeasured

Alcohol●○○ · saidmeasured

Density of dialogue●○○ · shownmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●○○ · suggestedmeasured

Disaster, destruction, war●○○ · shownmeasured

Drugs●○○ · saidmeasured

Fighting, brawls●○○ · shownmeasured

Insults, hurtful words●○○ · shownmeasured

Sexual innuendo, double meanings●○○ · shownmeasured

Smoking●○○ · saidmeasured

Visible injury, blood●○○ · saidmeasured

For the same age, on zinema

The latest guides

A zinema reading from September 20, 2026 · the whole movie, watched in full · the age by zinema's rules for the US and France, and a human reading · report an error · how this guide is made