Title: "Driving Miss Daisy"
Director: Bruce Beresford
Producer: L.F. Zanuck and R.D. Zanuck
Editing: Mark Warner
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Starring:
- Morgan Freeman as Hoke Colburn
- Jessica Tandy (RIP) as Mrs. ("Miss") Daisy Werthan
- Dan Akroyd as Boolie Werthan
Plot and Critical Review: It's 1948 and Mrs. ("Miss") Daisy Werthan, a 72-year-old widow, lives in Atlanta, Georgia, alone except for an African American housemaid named Idella. After a driving mishap where her Chrysler automobile is totaled, Miss Daisy’s son Boolie tells her she will have to get a chauffeur because no insurance company will insure her. She refuses, but Boolie is determined to find her one. Meanwhile, she is stuck at home and is unable to run errands or visit friends.
Boolie finds a man named Hoke Colburn who had driven for a local judge. At first Miss Daisy refuses to let Hoke drive her, going so far as to walk to the local Piggly Wiggly. It is revealed that her reluctance to be driven around is because she is embarrassed, that people might think she is either too old to drive or so well off that she can afford a driver.
Daisy comes to accept Hoke and the fact that she needs him to drive her around. Miss Daisy finds out that Hoke cannot read, so she teaches him how to read. Over the years Hoke drives Daisy in a succession of vehicles including a Hudson Commodore and a series of Cadillacs. When it became time to trade in the car for a new vehicle, Hoke often purchases the previous car and uses it as his personal vehicle.
Miss Daisy has Hoke drive her to her brother's 90th birthday party in Mobile, Alabama. Hoke reveals, during the trip, that it is the first time that he has left his home state of Georgia. During their trip from Atlanta to Mobile, Daisy realizes in several circumstances that Hoke's race affects how others treat him; her eyes are further opened to the social aspects of racial prejudice. As Daisy and Hoke spend time together, she gains appreciation for Hoke's many skills.
One day in 1963, while watching The Edge of Night in the kitchen, Idella dies. Miss Daisy is saddened because Idella was very close to her. She and her family attend the funeral, and are given a place of honor in the seating arrangements, and are the only white people in attendance.
The racism and prejudice that permeated American society during the time period in which the story takes place is explored in this movie, especially when Hoke is questioned by a pair of Alabama highway patrolmen, who make out-of-earshot comments about Miss Daisy being an "old Jew woman" and Hoke being an "old nigger". After her synagogue, The Temple, is bombed Daisy realizes that she, as a Jew, is subject to many of the same prejudices as Hoke. But in the course of the movie, American society undergoes radical changes, and Miss Daisy soon attends a dinner in which Dr. Martin Luther King gives a speech. She initially invites Boolie to the dinner, but he declines, and suggests that Miss Daisy invite Hoke. Miss Daisy does not mention the invitation to Hoke until he is driving her to the dinner.
One morning in 1971, Hoke comes to her house to find her in a confused and agitated state. He calls Boolie and tells him his mother is upset. Before her son arrives Miss Daisy tells Hoke that he's her best friend and holds his hand. Her son arranges for her to enter a retirement home.
Two years later, in 1973, the family home is sold, and Hoke has given up driving. Hoke is now 85 and Miss Daisy is 97. Boolie and Hoke meet at Miss Daisy's house one final time before the new owner takes possession, and they drive over to the retirement home to visit Miss Daisy. The movie ends on Thanksgiving with Hoke feeding Miss Daisy a piece of pie.
Director: Bruce Beresford
Producer: L.F. Zanuck and R.D. Zanuck
Editing: Mark Warner
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Starring:
- Morgan Freeman as Hoke Colburn
- Jessica Tandy (RIP) as Mrs. ("Miss") Daisy Werthan
- Dan Akroyd as Boolie Werthan
Plot and Critical Review: It's 1948 and Mrs. ("Miss") Daisy Werthan, a 72-year-old widow, lives in Atlanta, Georgia, alone except for an African American housemaid named Idella. After a driving mishap where her Chrysler automobile is totaled, Miss Daisy’s son Boolie tells her she will have to get a chauffeur because no insurance company will insure her. She refuses, but Boolie is determined to find her one. Meanwhile, she is stuck at home and is unable to run errands or visit friends.
Boolie finds a man named Hoke Colburn who had driven for a local judge. At first Miss Daisy refuses to let Hoke drive her, going so far as to walk to the local Piggly Wiggly. It is revealed that her reluctance to be driven around is because she is embarrassed, that people might think she is either too old to drive or so well off that she can afford a driver.
Daisy comes to accept Hoke and the fact that she needs him to drive her around. Miss Daisy finds out that Hoke cannot read, so she teaches him how to read. Over the years Hoke drives Daisy in a succession of vehicles including a Hudson Commodore and a series of Cadillacs. When it became time to trade in the car for a new vehicle, Hoke often purchases the previous car and uses it as his personal vehicle.
Miss Daisy has Hoke drive her to her brother's 90th birthday party in Mobile, Alabama. Hoke reveals, during the trip, that it is the first time that he has left his home state of Georgia. During their trip from Atlanta to Mobile, Daisy realizes in several circumstances that Hoke's race affects how others treat him; her eyes are further opened to the social aspects of racial prejudice. As Daisy and Hoke spend time together, she gains appreciation for Hoke's many skills.
One day in 1963, while watching The Edge of Night in the kitchen, Idella dies. Miss Daisy is saddened because Idella was very close to her. She and her family attend the funeral, and are given a place of honor in the seating arrangements, and are the only white people in attendance.
The racism and prejudice that permeated American society during the time period in which the story takes place is explored in this movie, especially when Hoke is questioned by a pair of Alabama highway patrolmen, who make out-of-earshot comments about Miss Daisy being an "old Jew woman" and Hoke being an "old nigger". After her synagogue, The Temple, is bombed Daisy realizes that she, as a Jew, is subject to many of the same prejudices as Hoke. But in the course of the movie, American society undergoes radical changes, and Miss Daisy soon attends a dinner in which Dr. Martin Luther King gives a speech. She initially invites Boolie to the dinner, but he declines, and suggests that Miss Daisy invite Hoke. Miss Daisy does not mention the invitation to Hoke until he is driving her to the dinner.
One morning in 1971, Hoke comes to her house to find her in a confused and agitated state. He calls Boolie and tells him his mother is upset. Before her son arrives Miss Daisy tells Hoke that he's her best friend and holds his hand. Her son arranges for her to enter a retirement home.
Two years later, in 1973, the family home is sold, and Hoke has given up driving. Hoke is now 85 and Miss Daisy is 97. Boolie and Hoke meet at Miss Daisy's house one final time before the new owner takes possession, and they drive over to the retirement home to visit Miss Daisy. The movie ends on Thanksgiving with Hoke feeding Miss Daisy a piece of pie.
I believe "Driving Miss Daisy" is a "must-buy" for any movie-collector and a "must-see" for any film buff. It was nominated for 9 Oscars and received 4 including Best Picture. If you're interested in random trivia, "Driving..." was the last Best Picture winner (to date) with a PG rating. While not technically innovative, "Driving..." is a film that will maintain posterity and popularity for decades to come for it's ability to tell an "against odds" story in the time-honored American fashion.
And Morgan Freeman is pretty good, as he is good everywhere else he appears.
My Rating: 8/10
Content to Caution:
V-1 - This movie is far too sweet for it, but there is a comical car accident.
L-2 - No comment...and no blaspheming!
DU-2 - Some smoking and drinking.
RT-3 – There is some spoken and unspoken racial tension. There's also a comical element of religious teasing between Jews and Protestants. It's the South, remember...
H/S-1 - No comment.
CH-2 – No comment.
S/N-1 – No comment.
The "Reel Revelation": "Unexpected Sidekick"
You never know who you're going to meet. That's the truth of things. Whenever you step out of your home, there's no way to tell who you're going to bump into: an old friend from college, or an even older friend from before. A distant family member you didn't know was in town, or a family member you never thought you'd see again. An ex-lover, or your ex-lovers present lover...yikes! Or a stranger, whose face you've never seen and whose voice you've never heard. There's simply no way of knowing who you're going to meet.
As a result we have no idea who we'll meet and become close to or even fall in love with. This idea of not-knowing is at the heart of "Driving Miss Daisy", a movie in which the old and stubborn "Miss" Daisy Werthan unexpectedly finds herself having to deal with Hoke Colburn, who her son Boolie has hired to be her driver. Not only is Hoke a negro (remember the time period and geographical setting), but he's a forthcoming and nosy gentleman and a complete stranger! You couldn't have picked a better person to rattle "Miss" Daisy's cage.
As the movie unfolds, however, it becomes apparent that these two strangers were more in need of one another than they ever knew. They are able to overcome social, religious, and personal boundaries and become the best of friends; something that wasn't at all in sight at the beginning of the film. And in the end it is Hoke, "Miss" Daisy's unexpected sidekick, who is most present for her, even going so far as to feed her pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. What a delightful display of grace and love.
Watching this film reminds me of a somewhat similar (more illumining than similar, perhaps) story from the Gospel of Luke:
"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man by the name of Zaccheus: he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19: 1-10)
Who could have predicted such a chain of events? Did Zaccheus even know who Jesus was, or was he simply trying to get a look at "the man" everyone was crowding around? This is a moment of overwhelming grace, that Jesus would say to a tax collector, "i'm coming over for dinner!" Remember that Zaccheus was the bad guy in Jericho, and from what we can tell he was the first person Jesus spoke to when he entered the city. In a matter of minutes Zaccheus went from being the most hated man in town to the most blessed as he welcomed Jesus into his home. What happened in that home changed Zaccheus' life and the life of that city forever.
This story, like some of the stories we see in films, seems altogether impossible. That's how some people (even life-long Christians) have come to regard the Gospels: as being out-of-this-world and impossible stories of wonder, myth, and divine power. While they might seem that way, they are more real and true than any set of stories that has ever been told. And their truth reaches through space and time to us; what was true when Jesus lived is true for us today. I believe one of the truths we find in this story is that just as Zaccheus found himself standing before the Lord of Lords, so you and I might find ourselves standing before a total stranger, placed there by God's design, and challenged to welcome them into the home of our hearts.
Remember that each time you step out your door you never know who you're going to meet. Pray that God will make your heart soft for all people, even those who arrive unexpectedly.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
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