"Learning to Drive" is a slice of life film that is well acted but seems to leave the viewer cold by the end. A better or at least a more complete ending would have made this a more enjoyable viewing experience.
When the film begins, Darwan (Ben Kingsley) is a very hardworking guy--working both night and day driving taxis and teaching folks to drive. He meets a pathetic lady, Wendy (Patricia Clarkson), when her husband of over 20 years dumps her in his cab! Coincidentally, when she starts picking up the pieces of her life, Wendy decides she wants to learn to drive so she can go to Vermont to spend time with her daughter...and she calls Darwan's driving school. Through the course of the film, she and Darwan become friends...which is good, as he needs a lot of patience because she's a horrible driver..just horrible.
Clarkson and Kingsley are both really good actors...so I did enjoy the film simply so I could watch them. But as for the script, it left me a bit flat because the ending was so abrupt and anticlimactic. See the film for yourself...and see if you, too, agree.
When the film begins, Darwan (Ben Kingsley) is a very hardworking guy--working both night and day driving taxis and teaching folks to drive. He meets a pathetic lady, Wendy (Patricia Clarkson), when her husband of over 20 years dumps her in his cab! Coincidentally, when she starts picking up the pieces of her life, Wendy decides she wants to learn to drive so she can go to Vermont to spend time with her daughter...and she calls Darwan's driving school. Through the course of the film, she and Darwan become friends...which is good, as he needs a lot of patience because she's a horrible driver..just horrible.
Clarkson and Kingsley are both really good actors...so I did enjoy the film simply so I could watch them. But as for the script, it left me a bit flat because the ending was so abrupt and anticlimactic. See the film for yourself...and see if you, too, agree.