Driving Lessons (2006)

Driving Lessons starring Rupert Grint and Julie Walters was an extraordinary and inspirational movie about the coming of age of a very shy and timid boy named Ben. Jeremy Brock did a marvelous job in expressing the development of each character, and left viewers with a strong message about morals and lessons.The movie starts with Ben, a 17 year old boy, who is strongly dominated by his controlling mother. He is very shy and awkward, but has a strong love for poetry. Not many people understand his personality, until he has to work for a retired actress named Evie Walton. As he spends more time with Evie, he learns to speak his mind and stand up for himself. His true character is gradually shown throughout the movie, giving it a more realistic impact. I would strongly recommend watching this movie, not only because it had some laughable and comedic scenes, but also because through Ben, we are taught the importance of being true to ourselves. Jeremy Brock did an amazing job choosing the actors to portray his characters, making the plot even more interesting. I think that Rupert Grint was the perfect choice for Ben because he was able to demonstrate that quirky and timid personality that is not so easy to portray.Many people complain that the ending of the movie seemed rushed, however I think that was Jeremy Brock's personal intention. It showed the viewers how life can just fly by in a matter of seconds, and how our lives can change in a blink of an eye. That's certainly what happened to Ben. In a matter of minutes, he managed to turn his life around, and in a positive way. He started to speak out and make himself known in the world. Throughout the entire movie, there were many themes and symbols added, especially in the songs and soundtrack that was chosen. A very obvious song that left a huge impact on the ending was "Auld Lang Syne" for various reasons. Because of this, the tone and whole essence of the movie left me feeling content with the ending. Lastly, I liked how Jeremy Brock titled his movie. It may not seem relevant to the movie at first, but I think Jeremy Brock intended for his viewers to make their own interpretations and meanings regarding the title.

Driving Lessons is a typical release in the "quirky misfit finds quirky mentor" subgenre of the coming-of-age film, and after the 2000s, this particular kind of movie isn't much to look at. While this particular kind of film might seem inspirational to some, seeing these same character types interact in this manner ends up being clichéd and just plain tired. However, this film has power in its execution, and it provides a delightful atmosphere; even at its bleakest, it has hope and a wonderful lust for life, which ultimately makes this film genuinely enjoyable. This film is about introverted Ben Marshall, who in-between learning how to drive takes up a job serving retired actress Evie Walton, who deals with her own personal demons. He struggles to stay true to his religious family while learning how to thrive with Evie's eccentric guidance. Rupert Grint and Julie Walters make this film work, and although their characters may seem archetypal, their performances hold up the rest of the film. At least for me, it was an honest delight to watch their relationship grow from the beginning to the end. Both Grint and Walters play the respective roles of Ben and Evie with so humbled and warm that it just feels good to watch these two in action. However, the rest of the films' aspects are lost in the wake of the two leads; the other characters are in my opinion somewhat underdeveloped; even though they are refreshing, we only get that in bursts and it doesn't nearly seem as natural as Grint and Walters' performance. The film's main theme of driving your own destiny and being your own advocate are tired; although writer/director Jeremy Brock puts this point across, it's stale; the audience can understand a theme, but it takes a little more effort to make it memorable than I felt Brock gave in the final product. Fortunately, a lot of what is missing in this movie is strengthened by a truly unique script; Jeremy Brock apparently based much of it on his own experiences working for British actress Peggy Ashcroft; maybe it explains why this portion of the plot seems stronger than the other half featuring Ben's religious family, but it does allow for some good emotional grab. The soundtrack is decent, nothing to write home about or detract from, but the inclusion of a band like Salsa Celtica is unique for something so explicitly British. We do also get to see a lot of the United Kingdom's countryside, which serves for a lot of good imagery. All in all, Driving Lessons, while not particularly groundbreaking or otherwise ingenious, is an enjoyable, pleasurable film. I do believe it could have stood more development in the sense that it could have more to say, but is a treat to watch nonetheless, and is something I think would be a good choice for a positive watch.

The movie Driving Lessons by Jeremy Brock left me hanging by a string. Although the movie had a good moral I did not care for it. The movie was filled with various subplots which deluded you from the main focus. The movie takes us on a voyage throughout a young boy's life to manhood. Ben Marshall played by Rupert Grin was a timid awkward teenager trying to pass his driving test. He went through various adventures to along the way. Throughout his journey he met some influential people, one in particular Evie Walton a sassy retired actress with an immense love for Shakespeare. The movie's plot was overpowered by several other subplots that took place throughout the movie. Because of this it was somewhat hard to grasp the main concept of the movie. These subplots were conflicting throughout the movie leading to numerous dead ends. So many other story lines were going on throughout the movie it made it extremely busy and confusing. As the movie progresses the true plot did unveil. This movie lacked element. It failed to give us background or detailed information on characters such as Byrony and Mr. Finch. For instance Byrony was a quick fling Ben had, they hit it off for a couple of scenes then she disappeared and there was no information stating why they stopped communicating. In the movie we are told that Mr. Finch is ill old man that lives with the Marshall's because he killed his wife, but we are left to wonder why he did so or how he became sick. The choppiness of the movie was also displeasing. The scenes did not flow properly and that became a huge distraction for me. The randomness of this movie also was extremely annoying. For instance when Evie and Ben were on the bus Evie starts going on about how he is gay, I thought this scene was pointless. I feel as if the author wanted to waste time so he put frivolous scenes in the movie in hopes of entertaining us, but he fell short. At the end of the movie we are left to wonder if Ben really did pass his driving test. Although that question remains unanswered we do know he passed his life driving test. When driving a car you go on many roads which may lead to side streets and dead ends just like life, Ben proceeded to persevere and find his purpose. Overall I rate this 5.67 out of 10.

Driving Lessons is a wonderfully light-hearted yet touching comedy. It centres around the bizarre and unexpected friendship that develops between a shy and mild teenage boy, Ben (Grint) and eccentric retired actress Eve (Walters). Ben is trapped in a mundane and unhappy life that is still being controlled by his overly protective Christian mother. Eve is an old woman who still clings on to her glory days as a well known actress, and refuses to be the sweet older lady that society expects her to be. The only similarity that connects these two characters is their loneliness, and when Eve employs Ben to do odd jobs around her house, a very unlikely friendship forms. What is great about the storyline is that it has a clear message; conforming to other people's ideas of how to live your life, be it through religion, your relationship with family, or who your friends are, doesn't guarantee happiness - it doesn't matter whether your life is deemed normal, if it makes you happy then you should do it. Who doesn't love a movie with good morals? What makes this film different and, for me, quite fantastic, is how rather than being a couple of small, bland characters in a big action packed plot, it is two well developed, 3 dimensional characters in a simple yet realistic story. While some may find the plot to be boring, I think there is a well established balance between the simplicity of the storyline and the depth and intricacies of the characters. All in all a great movie, I would recommend to anybody.