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Driving Miss Daisy by Richard Natale There is more easy humor in one scene of Driving Miss Daisy than in the whole of many other contemporary comedies of its time. Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play has been opened up without being eviscerated--as happened with another recent theatrical adaptation, Steel Magnolias. Uhry has added some needed texture to the tale of a well-to-do Southern Jewish woman and her 25-year friendship with her black chauffeur. And the evocative period reproduction helps smooth the abrupt, arbitrary leaps in time (though there are only so many gaps that makeup and production design can bridge). Jessica Tandy, as Miss Daisy, and Morgan Freeman, as her driver, Hoke, are flawless craftsmen. Dan Aykroyd, as Miss Daisy's son Boolie (the only other character in the play), is outclasses by the seasoned Tandy and Freeman, but except for his distracting fake receding hairline, he doesn't embarrass himself. And Esther Rolle has some amusing moments as Miss Daisy's maid, Idella. Cumulatively, Driving Miss Daisy is not as dramatically affecting as the play. You can admire it, but it doesn't linger. There are scenes, as when Miss Daisy learns that her synagogue has been bombed or when she begins to descend into senility, that have impact, due largely to the strength of Tandy's performance. But the film is a little cold. Uhry and director Bruce Beresford have gone only so far to flesh out the story--ultimately not far enough. It's still too Hallmark Hall of Fame-ish. And no matter how accurately the story reflects the racial attitudes of the period, the film is condescending. You begin to resent Hoke and Idella's noble subservience. The film fills in the backgrounds of the white characters, but not the black ones. It could have used a couple of scenes of Hoke or Idella in their community, mingling with their families and friends, to help illustrate how they have to adapt their behavior to work for white people. Isn't it just like Hollywood to hire first-rate black actors like Rolle and, particularly, Freeman and then underutilize them? What did you think of this movie? Sound off in the Movie Forum. |
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