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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.

'Learning to drive' is a master class in writing; directing and of course the performance of two of the great character actors: Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley. There is a nobility and dignity to the story that comes from a taut but compassionate screenplay; and the wonderful interplay between the two leads. Clarkson always makes such interesting choices in projects and this is no exception. Her 'Wendy' has a lot to process during the opening moments of the movie; and it is thanks to her exquisite timing and believability; that despite her cathartic scenes early on; perhaps because of them; the audience is with her and her scenario all the way! With the age old construct of an odd pairing; Kingsley's often Zen like 'Darwan' provides the calming influence and ultimately a reciprocity that gives this film its huge warmth and overall success.

In the role of Wendy's daughter is none other than the daughter of another cinematic delight - Meryl Streep: the uncannily voiced and mannered Grace Gummer. How daunting it must be for Grace and her sister Mamie, to hone a craft in screen acting with their legendary mother's presence in film culture. Grace displays her mother's exuberance and complexity with what is really only a couple of scenes here, but makes her mark. But the film, despite some other subplots and ancillary characters, rests with Clarkson and Kinglsey and they are just superb.

If the film feels tight and rhythmically organic; it is due to Martin Scorsese's long time editor Thelma Schoonmaker who brings Isabel Coixet's carefully directed piece together with ease and no fuss; giving it a smooth and perfect running time. This is no epic; no earth shattering movie; but a reflective and nuanced dance between characters from different worlds who collide in the nicest way possible and leave a significant imprint on one another. Not a new idea, but in the hands of these expert filmmakers; it is a joy to be in their audience for the hour and a half journey.

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.

This film tells the story of a woman whose husband just dumped her. She meets a taxi driver who also works as a driving instructor. She decides to take driving lessons, and in the meantime they learn to navigate their marital problems.

"Learning To Drive" tells very common life problems, and it provides a very realistic sense of how people deal with these problems. Despite the hardships, the characters cope and the film maintains a sense of optimism and lightheartedness. It is also very refreshing to see Indian actors and culture being prominently portrayed in a film, especially because there is a row over a lack of diversity in the Oscars. I hope more films like this will get made.

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.