{"id":4888,"date":"2015-10-02T06:56:21","date_gmt":"2015-10-02T10:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4888"},"modified":"2015-10-28T06:59:35","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T10:59:35","slug":"learning-to-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4888","title":{"rendered":"Learning to Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BenDirector Isabel Coixet has put together an altogether pleasant comedy (trailer<\/a>) set in Manhattan, although much of the action takes place on the inside\u2014inside Wendy Shields (played by Patricia Clarkson) whose husband has left her for younger woman, forcing her to rethink her life. This leads to the startling decision to learn to drive. It takes place on the inside of her Sikh driving instructor, Darwan (Ben Kingsley), whose life is upended by the arrival of an Indian woman he\u2019s never met who\u2019s expecting to become his wife. And, it takes place on the inside of Jasleen (Sarita Choudhury), who speaks little English and who has entered a much more foreign territory than a stamp on a passport would suggest.<\/p>\n

The superb cast conveys all the internal yearning, turmoil, disappointment, and joy experienced by these characters without the burden of a heavy-handed script. Writer Sarah Kernochan based the screenplay on a New Yorker essay<\/a><\/em> and built in plenty of funny and sweet moments, too. Especially appreciated is the opportunity to see the colorful and intriguing interior of a Sikh temple.<\/p>\n

The cramped confines of a car make for filming challenges worthy of a team of contortionists, but it\u2019s an intimate setting, too (as the excellent 2008 British movie Happy Go Lucky<\/em> proved), in which quotidian experiences are spiced with the ever-present possibility of catastrophe (bicyclists! trucks! jaywalkers!). \u201cYou can\u2019t always trust people to behave properly,\u201d Darwan advises, and this truism resonates with his pupil. Though she would add the caveat that he actually does.<\/p>\n

Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> critics rating 67%; audiences 68%. Hard to understand why the critics dinged this movie for \u201cpredictability\u201d and didn\u2019t notice that exact problem in the awful Grandma<\/a><\/em> which they liked! If you\u2019ve had a hard week or are allergic to people screaming their problems at you for two hours, this is the better choice.<\/p>\n

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