By: Caden H. Hollander
My screening of this movie consisted entirely of old ladies ... and me. Learning to Drive is directed by Isabel Coixet and stars Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley and Grace Gummer. The film revolves around Wendy (Clarkson), a New York City resident whose husband has just left her. She decides to learn to drive so that she can visit her daughter (Gummer) at college in Vermont. She takes lessons from an Indian man named Darwan (Kingsley), and she experiences a fantastic turn-around with her life. To start, I absolutely love indie "dramedy" movies. Small-scale stories with interesting characters and witty dialog. This cast is also great, with Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley headlining. So, I went into this film expecting it to be a good time and a nice breath of fresh air from the summer movie season of blockbusters and explosions. And while the movie was a cute breath of fresh air, it is nothing more than that.
My screening of this movie consisted entirely of old ladies ... and me. Learning to Drive is directed by Isabel Coixet and stars Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley and Grace Gummer. The film revolves around Wendy (Clarkson), a New York City resident whose husband has just left her. She decides to learn to drive so that she can visit her daughter (Gummer) at college in Vermont. She takes lessons from an Indian man named Darwan (Kingsley), and she experiences a fantastic turn-around with her life. To start, I absolutely love indie "dramedy" movies. Small-scale stories with interesting characters and witty dialog. This cast is also great, with Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley headlining. So, I went into this film expecting it to be a good time and a nice breath of fresh air from the summer movie season of blockbusters and explosions. And while the movie was a cute breath of fresh air, it is nothing more than that.
This film is a fantastic rental. It is funny, has interesting dialog and deals with some very interesting issues like divorce and racial profiling and how regular people deal with these problems in our society. However, there are a few plot holes in this movie that upset the balance of the story. Also, throughout the film the editing was very poor, with unprofessional jump cuts that took the viewer out of the film to a large extent. I was shocked in the credits at the end of the movie that Thelma Schoonmaker was the editor on the film, as she is considered one of the best film editors in the business today. However, whether it was the footage the production got or the choppy editing style, it really did take you out of the experience, which was disappointing.
As for the acting, Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley were the two stars (and stand-outs) of this movie, partly because they were the two roles with emotional arcs in the film. Clarkson does a solid job throughout the movie portraying her character's situation, and you really feel for her and she is relatable. Ben Kingsley is by far the best, though. You can tell many emotions just through his facial expressions, and his on-camera persona is fantastic. His Indian accent is spot-on, and his emotional scenes are well-done.
In the end, Learning to Drive is a small-scale fun rental with witty humor and great performances from the two leads. However, there are many issues with the movie, including plot holes and sloppy editing that takes you out of the film. That being said, you can still have fun with this movie, but it is not one that I would recommend you see in theaters. Overall, Learning to Drive deserves a B-. So, what did you think of Learning to Drive? Have you seen it yet? Comment below and give your opinions on the film. Thanks!