Noir is one of many genres wherein it’s difficult to determine an exact definition. The closest one can get to a definition is finding the common traits between films that are agreed to be noirs. With noir being one of those “know-it-when-you-see-it” genres, it is often left up to debate as to whether or not a given film can be classified as noir. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive starring Ryan Gosling doesn’t appear to fit the common understandings of noir, with its bold color schemes and synthesizer-based music, but it is actually an evolution of the genre that establishes the modern noir.