Learning to Drive

Somehow we missed this movie when it came out several years ago but now were able to watch it at home on DVD from our public library. It is a very nice story of people from different cultures influencing each other.

Patricia Clarkson is well-known New York literature critic Wendy. One liability of her career is that she takes it a bit too seriously resulting in scant attention to her marriage of 20+ years. So her husband strays and it looks like this time he may be gone for good.

Quite by accident she meets up with Taxi driver Ben Kingsley as political refugee from India, Darwan. But he is also a driving instructor and when returning to her something she left in his cab, gives her his card.

Living in New York and having a husband to do the driving when necessary, Wendy never had learned to drive. Now her 20-ish daughter was moving away so Wendy became motivated, if she could drive she could go visit her.

So much of the movie is Wendy's difficult task of learning to drive in New York, while Darwar has a big issue of his own, relatives back home arranged a marriage for him with a nice Indian woman so he had to meet her at the airport and take her home, then help her get acclimated to American life.

Sarita Choudhury, like Kingsley a British actor, plays the role of Jasleen.

Overall a very entertaining and worthwhile movie.

I went to see this movie tonight and it was entertaining. I can't say that about many movies these days.

I liked the premise of a woman taking driving lessons after her divorce, trying to regain some sense of independence and competence after that emotional blow.

Ben Kingsley, as her Sikh taxi driver teacher, was excellent in his part. He and his student develop a close friendship which is a joy to see.

A friend, who is also a Sikh, went with me, and she said that Kingsley's headdress was not wrapped properly. You'd have thought that the film would have received some input from the Sikh community on these details, but maybe not. Odd.

At any rate, it was charming, with enough laughs and story to sustain it to the end. It has something to teach both women and men.

Darwan is a very busy man, holding down two jobs, one as a driving instructor, the other as a Taxi driver. One night he picks up Wendy and Ted, a very emotional argument ensues and he leaves her, explaining he doesn't love her anymore. Wendy's daughter Tasha tells her mum she needs to get her life sorted and to accept Ted's decision, and to start driving. After accidentally leaving a parcel in Darwans's taxi he returns in to Wendy, she asks for driving lessons.

Darwan has to put up with so much, the authorities questioning his being in the country, racial abuse from people. Being a devout Sikh his religion makes his life complete, nearly that is, until his wife to be turns up.

I am so glad I watched this film, it is so watchable, and truly enjoyable. It battles fears and overcoming them. It is very heartwarming in parts.

I needn't go too deeply into the performance of Ben Kingsley, fairly biased I know but whatever he does I love him in, he is an outstanding actor, he's great in this, but Patricia Clarkson is just so good, she puts so much into this movie, screen time between the two is magical.

Loved it 9/10 it's just a lovely movie.

Learning to Drive (2014) was directed by Isabel Coixet. It stars Ben Kingsley as Darwan, a Sikh driving instructor, and Patricia Clarkson as Wendy, whose husband has just left her. Wendy has never learned to drive. (Not driving is fairly common in NYC.) Now she needs to learn how to drive, and she turns to Darwan to teach her.

This is the beginning of a relationship that takes both people down long roads--literally and figuratively. Wendy's rage and frustration are almost palpable, and Darwan has domestic problems of his own.

Clarkson and Kingsley are among the finest actors on the screen today. You expect stellar performances, and that's what you get. It's a pleasure to sit back and see them demonstrate their acting skills.

For some reason, at the time I'm writing this review, the movie has a dismal IMDb rating of 6.6. This doesn't make sense to me. My suggestion is to ignore the rating. We were able to see the movie on the large screen at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. However, it will work well on the small screen. Find it and see it. You won't regret it.

Let it be known that I wish Ben Kingsley was my driving instructor, my old one was not friendly, that jerk just yelled at me constantly. Learning to drive can be an outright stressful experience, but the movie makes it interestingly light and approachable by using comedic clash of personalities and cultures. Also, props to the leads for realizing the modest troubled characters.

Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) is a distraught wife who just finds out that her husband is cheating on her. Thus begin the arduous dance of divorce. Meanwhile, she's decided to take driving lessons as a cathartic act. Darwan (Ben Kingsley) steps in as the instructor. Both of them have a set of unique problems and serendipitously find solace in each other's company.

For a leading female in New York, Wendy is a mess. It's not just Sex and The City mess, but complete wreck for about half of the movie. It's a humble depiction of character as she struggles to come in term with the divorce. The movie maintains a less melodramatic tone, this is a more realistic depiction and not a flamboyant drama.

Ben Kingsley plays as a Sikh here, at this point he can play any role extremely well, but it's nice to see him as someone other than some viceroy in medieval epic. There's a great respect to his Indian heritage and it easily looks genuine. He appears to be a calm voice of reason, although his life itself isn't perfect. It's rather humbling to see that someone with mentor persona deals with his own problems.

The film doesn't have striking development or twist, it's just a few strolls of a metropolis with two relatable characters. It presents a nice presentation, taking time to display the city's nuance with good cinematography as well as spicing the story with steadily flow of light humor. The scenes feel involving even though the two leads live very contrasting lives.

Learning to Drive is a lighthearted drama with nice addition to comedy and amazing acting. Highly recommended for casual audience for the humble and modest nature will soothingly entertain wide range of viewers.