Brock subscribes to the new school of British Imperialism: crafting cozy little trifles that conquer foreigners with preciousness.
Driving Lessons (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 73
Fresh: 35
Rotten:38
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Consensus: Though it has charm, Driving Lessons is a middling offering in the genre where the youngster coming of age meets a quirky senior who teaches valuable lessons about life.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for language, sexual content and some thematic material
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Oct 13, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: With his orange-colored bowl haircut and freckled cheeks, actor Rupert Grint (known by millions of pre-teens as Harry Potter's cinematic sidekick) is perfectly cast as Ben, an awkward teenage boy... With his orange-colored bowl haircut and freckled cheeks, actor Rupert Grint (known by millions of pre-teens as Harry Potter's cinematic sidekick) is perfectly cast as Ben, an awkward teenage boy whose reticence almost trespasses into total muteness. After a lifetime of being reined in by his overbearing, deeply religious mother (the always spot-on Laura Linney), Ben enters into the social world via his job as assistant to one spitfire of a diva, the washed-up actress Eve Walton (the inimitable Julie Walters of EDUCATING RITA fame). Walton, unable to accept the disintegration of her once-lauded career, chews up the scenery with her theatrics, culled from both plays of her past (think Shakespeare soliloquizing on cue) and creations of her imagination (she constantly invents stories to tell Ben, forgetting them only hours later). Yet it is exactly this overdramatic flair for life that awakens something in the actress's repressed assistant, and, for the first time, Ben begins to assert himself and his ideas. Of course, this is much to the chagrin of his pious, controlling mother, who struggles in her stern way to keep Ben on the leash she has worked so hard to tighten around him. First-time director Jeremy Brock is no stranger to writing roles for strong women, having penned the scripts for MRS. BROWN and CHARLOTTE GRAY (played by Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett). He proves that his sensitivity to detail and nuance translates to his directorial persona, crafting a movie that is as impeccably acted as it is carefully written, creating a balance between comedy and heartfelt drama that resonates deeply. [More]
Starring: Laura Linney, Rupert Grint, Julie Walters, Nicholas Farrell
Starring: Laura Linney, Rupert Grint, Julie Walters, Nicholas Farrell, Oliver Milburn, Jim Norton, Michelle Duncan, Tamsin Egerton
Director: Jeremy Brock
Director: Jeremy Brock
Producer: Alessandro Camon, Edward R. Pressman, Julia Chasman
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Driving Lessons
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but as we see in most autobiographical coming-of-age films, adolescent truth is just as boring as adolescent fiction.
The highlight here is most certainly Julie Walters, who hams it up royally, and does a fine job of making her role as an aging actress more than just a cartoon character.
A warmly funny coming of age story as the ultra conservative clashes with the unconventional in a confluence of the unexpected
Típica besteira de cinema independente que se julga mais inteligente e observadora do que é na realidade. O surpreendente é perceber que, enquanto Walters e Linney apelam para caricaturas, o jovem Grint oferece uma atuação sólida e envolvente.
Too many alcoholic outbursts and pitiful breakdowns wear down your patience.
The film is anchored by Walter's brilliant performance. She has a field day with this rambunctious, pampered yet terribly insecure woman. Grint is often reduced to playing straight man, but his reactions are priceless and the fact that he and Walters have
Writer-director Jeremy Brock has backloaded much of the hero's family conflict into the final scenes, which collapse under the weight.
The characterizations and comic situations both seem forced and labored.
Driving Lessons is a poignant miniature that offers [Julie] Walters a chance to be typically wonderful — saucy but deep — and [Rupert] Grint to stretch quite commendably.
Will be remembered as the movie in which we got to see Ron Weasley utter the s-word and the f-word (numerous times); drink wine; and hook up with a Scottish hottie who introduces him to Nick Drake and sex (in that order).
Walters is alternately zany and poignant, with Grint the perfect foil, a bemused, confused innocent who only wants to do good.
Latest News for Driving Lessons
October 12, 2006:
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