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.
Review of Driving Lessons
