Verdict:
A bit off-topic, but did Morgan Freeman find an elixir of life? He is playing an old man in this movie and that was 26 years ago (counting from the time of this review)!
Anyway, Driving Miss Daisy is a film centering on the relationship between an aging Jewish lady, Daisy, played by Jessica Tandy, and her black driver, Hoke Colburn, played by Morgan Freeman. Hoke is assigned to her as her driver against her will when she can no longer drive herself.
The movie is supposed to cover 25 years and the movie tries to show this time progression through a change of cars, makeup, and sometimes it just shows the year on a particular item, like on a trophy. While this is a sensible approach, I don’t think it succeeds because Hoke Colburn does not look any older, as the movie progresses, and Daisy only looks older towards the 2nd half. You have to pay attention to the little things to know where in the timeline you are.
That is just a minor complaint, but it brings us to a larger one: not much is going on in this movie in the 25 years it supposedly takes. The center point is the relationship between the two main characters, so the plot is not as important, but there is a strange stagnation in both the relationship and the story surrounding it. In fact, Hoke actually points this out towards the end of the film. The chauffeur always stays outside of any place they drive to and these two people do not experience life together, unlike the trailer promised. By the end, they are on friendlier terms than the ones they started on, but that’s about it.
It is commendable that the movie did not go the romantic way. It could have been easy for it to cheap out and have the characters fall in love and it is good that the movie avoids this, and even underlines the various mental barriers in the path of their relationship, but again, in the 25 years very little changes in their behavior or their situation (apart from getting weaker with age). The name driving Miss Daisy really is quite an accurate description, and the movie is perhaps a little too subtle for its own good.
The film delves into various themes such as ageing, ageism, racism, intergenerational conflict, ego’s and religion. In a way, Hoke is driving Ms. Daisy from one theme to the other.
Now, having said that, Morgan Freeman is awesome as Hoke Colburn, the old salty guy from the South. He portrays his character with reserved realism and really sells the resilience and self-respect in the face of life’s hardships. Jessica Tandy is very good at depicting ageing. The difference between her manners at the beginning of the movie and at the end is staggering. But Freeman basically carries this production on his shoulders. If not for his nuanced and captivating performance, I am not sure that this movie would have much to offer.
The film keeps it real. Besides having some modern anti-racist undertones in its story (perhaps to try and offset the potential offense of the main premise), the movie is surprisingly raw when it comes to showing people and their feelings at the time. Hoke is polite, but he still has his dignity and his own opinions. Daisy, although wanting to be seen as progressive, is still an old lady with her own special ways.
Driving Miss Daisy is a vehicle driven by Morgan Freeman’s performance. It leaves you with a good feeling at the end, but one could desire that a little bit more happens with the relationships and events. At this point I cannot find a reason to sit through this movie a second time.