Driving Lessons
Tuesday, 12 Sep 2006 15:22
Julie Walters puts in another sterling performance as the eccentric ex-actress Edie
Directed by Jeremy Brock, out now, cinema, starring Rupert Grint, Julie Walters and Laura Linney, 98 minutes.
In a nutshell…
Bumbling, amusing, touching, weird, fun.
What's it all about?
Ben (Grint) plays the part of a 17-year-old who never seems to be quite comfortable in his own skin. He lives a rather mundane life that consists of going to church and being dragged around by his super-religious mother (Linney) while she directs Christian plays and gives him some rather poor driving lessons. But all this is ripped apart when he gets a job as assistant to eccentric ex-actress Edie (Walters), who gives him a brand new perspective on his own life and the lives of everyone else around him.
Who's in it?
Rupert Grint is better known as Ron in the Harry Potter series of films, although he's slightly more grown up in Driving Lessons (despite having to film driving scenes on private roads because he was 16 when he started filming). Julie Walters, one of the stalwarts of British film, has also featured in the Harry Potter big screen adaptations, as well as in hits such as Calendar Girls and Billy Elliot. US actress Laura Linney has had roles in The Exorcism Of Emily Rose and Mystic River, among others.
As an example…
Evie [to Ben]: You see an attractive woman, living on her own, you wonder: Is she a roaring lesbian? Answer now! For your information, she was married three times. Once to an actor, once to an English lord and once to a Californian. All work things... My mistake. You on the other hand, might well be gay.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Pretty much everyone will like this - aside from action film fans, that is. All the actors put in worthy performances that might not reap a coveted Academy award, but will certainly be appreciated by audiences both in the UK and abroad.
What the others say
"Grint has a nice line in pained forbearance and looks a good young character actor; the repressively twee milieu is convincing and Linney, despite struggling somewhat with the accent, brings a sly comedic touch to her uptight suburban hypocrisy." - Time Out
"There's a dollop of lots of different things here - Driving Miss Daisy, Harold and Maude, Billy Elliott, Acorn Antiques - and it doesn't quite develop its own personality." - The Guardian
So is it any good?
It most certainly is. It manages to avoid some of the cliches inherent in modern British comedy (although not quite all of them) to paint a picture of a very real teenager in the throes of some of the most painful parts of growing up, while also having some hysterically funny moments.
Julie Walters puts in a sterling performance as the slightly crazy old woman who inevitably shows that she has an all-too human heart under the constant cursing and penchant for wine and whiskey. The film's picturesque locations and superb soundtrack (Surfjan Stevens, Nick Drake, Ben Folds) also add much to Driving Lessons. You could certainly do a lot worse than give up 98 minutes of your life to watch this film.
8/10
Dipika Patel
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