I had planned to review this earlier, but technical difficulties ensued. Now that I've seen it, I have to say it's a really great film. Directed by Bruce Beresford (Double Jeopardy, Black Robe), Driving Miss Daisy tells the story of a stubborn Jewish lady, Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy from The Birds and Fried Green Tomatoes) and the relationship between her and her chauffeur Hoke, played by Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, Now You See Me). And that's simply it. One could easily fail to make such a film good; it could have become a long and boring affair of a woman being stubborn and it could have gone nowhere. Luckily, playwright/screenwriter Alfred Uhry transfers his play into a cinematic masterpiece with themes of civil rights and friendship.
The film is complete with great performances and magnificent writing, but the area where this film shines is definitely make-up. The aging of the characters over a 25-year period is extremely remarkable in its realism and subtlety. Jessica Tandy as Miss Daisy isn't young by any means, but they make her look 97 by the end of the film, and it's hard to tell where the makeup begins and when it ends. Same with Dan Akyroyd (Ghostbusters, Blues Brothers); he's not an old feller today and he certainly wasn't back in 1989, but he looks very aged by the end of the film. The film is worth watching solely for a study on film/stage makeup design. It's magnificent and it definitely deserved that Oscar.
Hans Zimmer also provides a very uncharacteristic (for him, at least) score for the film. He's typically known for his epic-sounding scores with hints of electric instruments such as in the Pirates of the Carribean films or in any of his Christopher Nolan film scores (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception), but this score is more like his work on Sherlock Holmes--quirky and bouncy--but with the personal feeling of The Lion King score. I enjoyed the score, and it was nice to hear something different from Hans Zimmer. Now whether he's better than John Williams, that's debatable, and another story for another time (John Williams is better).
The film does bring up some interesting themes. Prejudice is heavily featured on both sides of the spectrum. Throughout the film, the audience, and Miss Daisy, come to realize the people like Hoke aren't being treated as equal, as Hoke brings up in a very notable scene, saying that "If he needs to make water, he'll make water...without asking [her] like a little child." Same happens with Miss Daisy later in the film when her Jewish beliefs are attacked. As I also said before, the film shows how the relationship between Daisy and Hoke becomes a friendship. In the same scene Hoke needs to make water, Hoke leaves Daisy alone, in which Daisy realizes she needs Hoke; Hoke is her protection. When Daisy starts to mentally suffer, she remembers Hoke--a timeless friend beyond any disease or ailment. Even in the final shots, Daisy brushes aside her own son so she and Hoke can share a friendly moment together as Hoke helps Daisy in her frail, old age. It's because of these themes that I would show this film to my kids in the future--show them a wholesome film where friendships last forever and that even the oddest couple can create something timeless and fantastic. I especially love the last shot where Hoke feeds Daisy a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving as you faintly see one of the many cars Hoke drove Miss Daisy in (I want to go back and watch the film again so I can see whether it was the first or the last--I can't remember). In other words, Daisy, although she may never say it, is thankful for her time with Hoke and the friendship they have made. It's storytelling at its best!
The film definitely deserved the awards it got, Best Picture especially, but I can see why there wasn't a Best Director nomination for it. The direction isn't very significant--unlike Argo, where the direction played a big role in the film's success, Beresford doesn't bring anything significantly interesting to the table. What was smart of him, though, was to make the writing, performances, and other little things--such as makeup and art design--stand out in front, making Driving Miss Daisy one of the best Best Pictures ever made. A normal moviegoer doesn't often see a film dependent on its screenplay--others use special effects or unique cinematography to put butts in seats--but Driving Miss Daisy has an exquisite screenplay, similar to A Few Good Men (which was also a film dependent on the screenplay). Everything in this film is rather great, and there's certainly enough to digest and dissect, so I don't feel bad about giving Driving Miss Daisy 5 out of 5 stars. There's really nothing to complain about at all. The film takes its time and it's timeless!
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| These two give some of their best performances in Driving Miss Daisy. |
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