The last Reel Mondays screening of the season takes place on April 25 with a delightful little film about a woman in the aftermath of a failed marriage and her driving instructor, a Sikh man just embarking on a new marriage.
Each of them is learning to drive in their own respective ways.
Patricia Clarkson plays Wendy Shields, a writer and literary critic in New York whose husband has just left her to pursue the woman he’s been having an affair with. When she is suddenly faced with being alone and taking care of herself, she also realizes that she has to educate herself on the ways of transportation, something that she has somehow missed out on all of her years.
She never learned to drive. Enter Darwan Singh Tur (Ben Kingsley), a Sikh driving instructor with more lessons to impart than those that simply deal with turn signals and road signs. He’s filled with life lessons for all who pass through his car doors. As a political refugee and a visible minority in New York, his life has been far from simple and certainly not filled with ease. Still, his calm demeanor has a way of filling others with peace and pleasantness.
That doesn’t mean he knows everything. He’s going through his own major life transition with an arranged marriage to Jasleen (Sarita Choudhury), a woman who has just arrived in America and struggles to find herself in such a strange land. While her part in the tale is relatively brief compared to the others, the theme is as familiar and redolent as the curry in her kitchen.
Each of our main characters, adult though they might well be, still have much to learn and much to gain from the presence of others in their lives. It wasn’t the first-runner up for the People's Choice Award at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival for nothing. This film has heart.
Learning to Drive is a beautiful and simple story from director Isabel Coixet and screenwriter Sarah Kernochan. Patricia Clarkson is a wonderful actress whose tangible and heartbreaking pain and fear provide the launching pad for her to embark on the freer third act of her life.
Mostly, the movie is a story of a sweet friendship that is especially enhanced by the acting talents of Kingsley. His portrayal of Darwan is endearing enough to make you want to know and befriend this person in real life.
Review
Learning to Drive<br />Stars: 4.0<br />Starring Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley, Jake Weber, Sarita Choudhury, Grace Gummer, Samantha Bee, and John Hodgman<br />Directed by Isabel Coixet<br />Written by Sarah Kernochan<br />Rated 14A for coarse language and sexual content<br />Runtime: 90 minutes<br />Learning to Drive screens on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Arden Theatre as part of the St. Albert Public Library's Reel Mondays fundraiser. All proceeds go towards producing the St. Albert Readers' Festival, also known as STARFest.<br />Tickets are $55 for all five of this season's selections or $15 per film. They can be purchased at the customer service desk at the library. Call 780-459-1530 or visit www.sapl.ca for more information.
