Review: Learning to Drive

We have all felt at one point or another that driving is an analogy for life; the comparison explores the simultaneous ideas of freedom and control. LEARNING TO DRIVE, penned by Sarah Kernochan and directed by Isabel Coixet, takes advantage of this metaphorical truth. This off-kilter comedy does well to break past its cutesy premise and explore the eccentricity of reality.

Wendy is a stubborn literary critic who finds her husband is cheating on her with another woman. Despite Wendy's insistence that they are just taking a break, her husband files for separation, and her daughter invites her out to the farm in Maine where she is living. But Wendy doesn't have her driver's license -- she always left the driving to her husband -- and she is not yet willing to admit that she needs to learn.

Darwan is a Sikh driving instructor who takes his job very seriously. He is a US citizen, but his nephew, Preet, is an illegal immigrant, and the rest of his family remains in India, where they are trying to arrange a marriage for him.

Darwan and Wendy cross paths in a zany series of driving lessons as she refuses to let the experience be an easy one, clotting her mind with thoughts of longing for her husband and regrets from when she was a kid. Darwan peppers her with the rules of the road, including little adages that teach both about driving and about life, such as "Fear is good. When you are afraid, you pay more attention."

Adding to the haphazard nature of their relationship is Jasleen (Sarita Choudhury), Darwan's Indian bride, who Darwan finally agreed to marry. Jasleen knows very little English, and even less about her new surroundings; and as Darwan seems to work all the time, the connection between the two of them is thin. Jasleen's presence in the film, paired with a fling that Wendy has with a blind date set up by Wendy's sister, reveals the theme of selfishness existent in each character throughout the film; as stated before, this isn't just a cutesy premise. The film is not necessarily consistent in tone and pace -- it tries to tackle a range of subjects, some of which flow well, others which weigh down the plot -- but overall, it is a reflection of life, with intricate, idiosyncratic characters who constantly have to remind themselves in life's fumblings to "take the wheel, [and] press the pedal."

Clarkson and Kingsley may not achieve the exact romantic chemistry asked of them by the plot, but their platonic chemistry well makes up for that; both do an excellent job of portraying stubborn, sometimes selfish and often lost, but ultimately lovable people. LEARNING TO DRIVE is now playing at the Midtown Cinema - make sure to check this one out!