Driving Miss Daisy [G]

When rich, elderly Daisy Werthan drives her car into her neighbour’s garden, her son Boolie decides that her driving days are over. So Boolie hires Hoke to be Daisy’s chauffer, which starts out as a bit of a fiasco but, as the two spend more time together, whether they like it or not, they develop a warm and special relationship and, as time goes on, they discover that they have become each other’s best friend. 

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name and winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay, Driving Miss Daisy is a lovely little film that’s filled with warmth, conflict, and heart. It’s a really lovely little tale about a bond developing between the two most unlikely of souls. 

When rich, elderly Daisy Werthan drives her car into her neighbour’s garden, her son Boolie decides that her driving days are over. So Boolie hires Hoke to be Daisy’s chauffer, which begins as a bit of a fiasco as Daisy forcefully and stubbornly resists this intrusion into her life. But as the two spend more time together, whether they like it or not, they develop this special and warm bond, and, as time goes on, they realise that, over the course of their 25-year relationship, they have become each other’s best friend. 

Everything about this film was subtle, but at the same time, poignant. Admittedly, the passage of time is one that can almost be completely missed, I would not have realised that their friendship went on so long without reading the blurb on the back of the cover. 

The story is a lovely natural one that just blooms over the course of the film and the performances from the two leads were just beautiful. 

Jessica Tandy as Daisy was wonderful, beginning the film as stubborn, frank, and rather powerfully passive aggressive. Then she begins to smile and speak warmly towards Hoke and it’s really lovely to see the change, like watching sun break through on an overcast day. 

Morgan Freeman as Hoke was just gorgeous. I have a bit of a thing for Morgan Freeman, I have to admit; I find him wonderfully charming with this amazing ability to demand the audience’s attention, even when he’s paying meeker characters like Hoke or Azeem in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. In this film he’s wonderfully amiable, gentle, and at the same time just as determined and stubborn as Jessica Tandy and the clash of the two heads brings the film its drama and its heart. Lovely. 

Starring Dan Akroyd, Patti LuPone, and Esther Rollie, Driving Miss Daisy is a lovely little film that’s filled with drama, conflicts, friendship, and heart. I thought it was really nice and genuinely moving.