I had my 9/80 day off on Friday and Heather and I went to see “Learning to Drive” with Ben Kinglsley and Patricia Clarkson. Clarkson plays Wendy a woman who gets dumped by her weasel of a husband just as the movie opens. The little turd decided to tell her that he was leaving her in a restaurant, hoping that she wouldn’t make a scene. That didn’t work out so they took their fight to a cab driven by a Sikh named Darwan, played by Kingsley. Darwan gets the weasel to his girlfriend’s house and Wendy to her house. Darwan finds out the next day that Wendy left something in his car and he delivers it back to her and she takes his card.
In the meantime Wendy has promised her daughter, Tasha (played by Grace Gummer, who is also Meryl Streep’s daughter) that she would learn how to drive so she could visit her in out in the sticks way up in Vermont or somewhere. So she calls Darwan and he proceeds to teach her how to drive. While she is learning to drive she is also learning how to live her life without the weasel.
Meanwhile Darwan has his own issues. He is single and and is planning on marrying somebody he doesn’t know from his village in India arranged by his sister. He doesn’t really know how to deal with her and so he and Wendy kind of muddle along teaching each other about life as the driving lessons proceed. Then Darwan’s wife Jasleen shows up and she and Darwan get married the next day and start their life together in Queens and she is so unhappy because she doesn’t understand why her new husband is never home and he doesn’t understand because she just won’t adjust to life in her new place.
Anyways I’m not going to tell you about the whole danged movie but I loved this because it is about growing and changing and adapting and picking yourself up and moving forward and making a life for yourself. I loved this movie.
Clarkson is a marvel. She is so expressive and when she is frowning and sad, we are sad also and when she is happy, she is radiant and we feel great. Kingsley does his thing where just subtle changes in expression really multiplies the emotional effect. He is also a definite solid guy in counterpoint to the weasel.
I thought this was a completely satisfying movie and give it two thumbs up. It is R rated mainly because we get a really good view of Clarkson’s breasts bouncing around as she has a sex with a guy she met. I mean I like looking a breasts as much as any guy but this was totally gratuitous and didn’t have much to do with the movie before or after the viewing.Not that I am complaining.
Oh, you do know how to make my day!! I love your review and while I’m not a big movie goer – never was — this one has caught my eye and interest!! Hope they put it out on a DVD so I can watch it soon!! Thanks, Alan!! Have a great weekend!!
Like, Sylvia, I’m not a big movie goer. But if it come out in DVD, I’d watch it for sure.