Driving Miss Daisy (Widescreen Special Edition)

 

 

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A very sweet film, with towering performances from Morgan Freeman and
Jessica Tandy.

It's well meaning, and well done, but unlike 'Tender Mercies' director
Bruce Beresford can't quite overcome the sap and hokum mixed into with
solid writing. This film is almost the definition of 'Oscar bait'.
Liberal, but sure not to offend anyone, it deals with the issue of US
southern racism with the most ginger of touches, casts the world's WASPiest
looking actors (Jessica Tandy and Dan Akroyd) to play Jews, and has
Morgan Freeman spend the first half of the movie shukin' and jivin',
which might be historically accurate, but we never really see the pain
that living in that subservient way would cause this man of deep
dignity.

That said, I still enjoyed it very much while I watched it- all the
performances are wonderful, and the writing is clever. I smiled at the
sweet parts, and got teary at the sad. And the film does work much
better as a study of grudging friendship in the face of the indignities
of age, than as a social comment about racism.

But there's something about the burnished glow the film gives the
waning days of Jim Crow that, in retrospect, also gives me the willies.
I wonder how different the film would be if just once they drove by a
black kid getting beat up by a bunch of rednecks. Here, the worst evil
on screen are two mean cops who call Freeman 'boy'. I would hate to
think a generation could watch this film and think it represented the
realities of those terrible times.

Lovely is such an old fashioned word, I know. But that's the word that describes this film, for me. The story of the developing friendship over many years between the black chaueffeur and the older Jewish woman is very heartwarming in its simplicity. Jessica Tandy is marvelous as "Miss Daisy" the fiercely independant, irascible widow, whose advancing age requires her son to employ, against her wishes, a driver/companion for her. Miss Tandy, who originated the role of Blanche DuBois on Broadway in "A Streetcar Named Desire", was a wonderful actress. This was one of her last films, and all the skill, sublety, and experience of her life-long craft come together to create a living, breathing "Miss Daisy." Morgan Freeman meets her skill in his portrayal of "Hoag", the accomodating chaueffeur. He has the manner of a certain resignation that an older black man may have felt in the turbulent, prejudiced south in which he lived, yet exudes dignity. He has the manner of "Hoag" down pat, right down to the closed mouth laugh that I have seen in the old black men who hang out on the corner. This is not a caricature, he IS "Hoag." His relationship with Miss Daisy starts out very rocky, to say the least, but, as time passes, their places in each others lives develope into almost a "marriage", with a quiet understanding of, and dependence on, each other. And though Miss Daisy insists she was not prejudiced, and inherently wasn't, it is touching to see her slowly let go of her last universally accepted beliefs of peoples place in society, where the "colored" help were always servants of some sort, and the line was just never crossed. Scenes such as the one where she and "Hoag" are both eating their dinner in the house, she in the dining room, he , alone in the kitchen, express this. The very thought of them dining together, it just wasn't done. As time goes on, and she becomes quietly aware of the similarities of the prejudices against her religion and the prejudices and injustice against Hoags race, the differences that seperate them become insignicant. Dan Akroyd and Patti Lupone are fine as Miss Daisy's son and his typically '50s wife, who admonishes her black maid for the unforgivable sin of forgetting to tell her she was out of coconut for the ambrosia she was serving to her guests... a '50s hostess' nightmare. There are a few moments when their performances threaten to lapse into parody, but one is only aware of this because this is basically a two person play, and the skill and realism of Tandys and Freemans performances just eclipse the others, they are basically props compared to the skill and, yes, sublety of the leads . The exception is Esther Rolle as "Idella" , Miss Daisys black maid. Though her part is small, and her lines few, she manages to convey a resigned dignity also, and her dead-pan delivery of several one liners is very humorous. Miss Daisys affection and respect for Idella is clearly etched upon her face, however, at Idella's funeral. This is just a wonderfully simple, beautiful film. It never treads into being overly sentimental, thanks to the casting of two very special stars. This film took many by surprise by winning the Oscar for best film of the year, proving that a movie with no special effects, and, that actually tells a story, can still move audiences. The final scene, where their years-long friendship comes full circle, will have tears in your eyes, as Miss Daisy conveys the sweet sad wisdom of the old, who know that "all shall soon pass...."

Freeman and Tandy are quite a combo!!

This is a sensitive film that says a lot about humanity.
Compassionate humanism oozes from this movie.
It certainly deserved the Picture of the Year in 1989.

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5.0 out of 5 stars a great classic
This is a truly wonderful movie.It is a sensitive portrayal of the interaction between an old Jewish woman (Jessica Tandy and a black man (Morgan Freeman)in the Southern United... Read more

Published 4 months ago by B. Dewhirst

5.0 out of 5 stars Super!
This DVD is fantastic! All movie lovers will love this one. A must buy, must see! Highly recommend this one!!!!

Published 4 months ago by Maxisback

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Memorable, Perfect
Not much can be added to the praise of others here, or to the film's enthusiastic reception by the public. Read more

Published on Jun 25 2004 by Great Movie Addict

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm driving you to the store Miss Daisy!
A great film. I first found a copy at a friends home and after that I knew I had to get a copy of my own. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2004 by R. J Metz

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Tale of an Unlikely Friendship
"Driving Miss Daisy" is one of the best films released in 1989, rightfully winning four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Makeup... Read more

Published on May 2 2004 by David Anderson

4.0 out of 5 stars The viewer from FL, United States, is a complete idiot
First of all viewer from FL, Untied States, this movie has little to no cliches in it. It is a simple, original story based on a simple, original play, about two ordinary people,... Read more

Published on April 12 2004 by Simon Tweed

2.0 out of 5 stars What a crime
It was criminal that this movie won best film. Films like "Glory," which was snubbed by the academy, and "Born on the Forth of July" were more deserving. Read more

Published on Mar 19 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unlikely Pair
This Academy Award winning drama is a touching story about the coexistence of an aging southern woman and her chauffer. Read more

Published on Jan 24 2004 by a viewer

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best
Superb casting of Jessica Tandy as a stubborn elderly Southern woman of privilege and Morgan Freeman as her loyal and capable and patient chauffeur makes this one of the best... Read more

Published on Dec 24 2003 by Peggy Vincent

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Drive
One of the greatest movies I have watched - this Oscar winning movie is a great piece of art. Every inch of the movie is enjoyable and everyone has give their best... Read more

Published on Dec 2 2003 by Art Critique

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