Learning to Drive

Learning to Drive

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Ben Kingsley, Grace Gummer
Director: Isabel Coixet
Running Time: 105 minutes

Synopsis:  Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for another woman; Darwan (Ben Kingsley) is a softly-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she's never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor, and love in starting life anew.​

Learning to Drive
Release Date: October 8th, 2015
Trailer

Director's Notes

I first became involved with Learning to Drive when I was shooting Elegy with Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley, 8 years ago! Patricia gave me the script and I was completely fascinated by it and it moved me very deeply. At that moment I was going through a separation with my daughter's father and I didn't have a driver's license. The script gave me the strength to move forward and the push I needed to learn to drive. It spoke to me in a very personal level and it was a dream come true when, after all these years, we made the film.

I'm a big fan of Katha Pollitt's writing and the essay she wrote has become a classic because it has her smart, intelligent, and compassionate point of view about love, loss and moving forward in life. I think Learning to Drive has captured the essence of her essay, even if some things are totally different. Katha came to the shoot herself and was delighted by what she saw.

When it came to casting, I immediately thought of Ben and Patricia. Wendy is a hard worker – a cultivated, tough, witty and extremely accomplished woman. But her world crumbles when her husband is leaving her. She learns to drive and in the process she also learns to be in her own and to be open to the world. Darwan is an honest, up tight and traditional Sikh man who has a strict honor code. When he teaches Wendy to drive, he starts discovering things about himself and learns to be more flexible and generous. They were simply born to play these characters. Since this is my second film with them, I have to say it was extremely easy and fun, it feels like we're family now!

Visually I wanted to show New York in summer as a sweaty, beautiful and shiny place to be as well as show there's another colorful world in Richmond Hill. It plays well with the ever present theme of self-discovery. The "it's never too late for anything" attitude. The fact love is hard work as much as marriage. How we can easily lose perspective of our lives and how we can regain it. The beauty of the pure friendship between a man and a woman.

Learning to Drive
Release Date: October 8th, 2015