Product Description
A funny and touching coming-of-age story about a shy teenage boy who tries to escape the influence of his domineering mother. His world changes when he starts working for a retired actress who introduces him to the ways of an unconventional life.
Amazon.com
More down-to-earth than Auntie Mame, Driving Lessons imparts the same simple, but enduring messagebe yourself. In the directorial debut from screenwriter Jeremy Brock (Mrs. Brown), 17-year-old Ben (Harry Potter's Rupert Grint, sluggish yet sympathetic) lives with his vicar father, Robert (Nicholas Farrell), and pious mother, Laura (Laura Linney doing a passable, but inconsistent British accent), in a tree-shaded London suburb. Soft-spoken Ben writes poems and looks forward to passing his driver's test. When his mother encourages him to get a job, he becomes an assistant to retired actress Evie Walton (Billy Elliot's Julie Walters, hunched up to look elderly). He finds her overbearing at first. Still, Evie is preferable to Laura, who may do volunteer work with her husband's parishioners, including bizarre boarder Mr. Fincham (Jim Norton), but also cheats on him with Reverend Peter (Oliver Milburn) and engages her resentful son in the subterfuge. Then Evie tricks Ben into driving her to Edinburgh for a poetry reading, where he learns to assert himself and she learns to put the dramatics on holdat least for a few minutes. Ben also loses his virginity to a woman he just met, sending a secondary message some parents might not appreciate (the film's sprinklings of profanity earned it a PG-13). Driving Lessons itself seems stranded between coming-of-age story and character study. Ironically, Farrell gives the most convincing performance as Ben's bird-loving father. Engaging if uneven, this parable about hypocrisy and self-expression might have been more interesting if presented from his perspective. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from Driving Lessons (click for larger image)
Beyond Driving Lessons at Amazon.com
More Films about Coming of Age
The Films of Julie Walters
Learn to Drive
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.4 ounces
- Director : Jeremy Brock
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Color, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled, AC-3
- Run time : 1 hour and 38 minutes
- Release date : July 3, 2007
- Actors : Rupert Grint, Julie Walters, Nicholas Farrell, Laura Linney, Jordan Young
- Subtitles: : Spanish, French
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Number of discs : 1
