Guest Blogger: Kendal K2

Driving Lessons is a British film that was released in 2006. The movie is about a boy named Ben Marshall who is told to get a job by his mother and ends up working for a retired actress named Evie Walton. Ben, who is from a strict Christian family starts as a pretty naïve school boy without a lot of real world experience. Evie takes it upon herself to give him many new life experiences, despite Ben’s mother’s disapproval. Throughout the movie, we see these two characters develop a close friendship and realize just how much of an influence they are to each other. Rupert Grint, who plays Ben Marshalls, does a great job of stepping into a new type of role in comparison to the role he had previous. He seems to really understand his character and the emotions Ben must be feeling. Julie Walters, who plays Evie Walton, has once again done a very good job. As an experienced actor she knew just how to act as the eccentric, lovable retired-actress, Evie. Within the movie, both Evie and Ben grow up with the assistance of each other. Evie helps Ben experience life and find out who he really is because he has been so sheltered by his mother. Ben helps Evie move on from her past career and become happy with the life she has now. I feel a major theme in this movie is growth. Throughout the movie you see a lot of growth and development. People must grow up and become the person they want to be if they want to be successful in life. In Stephen Holdens, New York Times movie review, he said: “Since any connections between “Driving Lessons” and the real world are tangential at best, it’s a faux liberation: the easiest kind.” I would have to disagree with this review because I believe that even though the themes in this movie were subtle, it doesn’t make them any less realistic. A movie isn’t necessarily supposed to be based on reality because it is a fictional world. I would definitely say that Driving Lessons is worth your time. Rupert Grint and Julie Walters portray their characters extremely well and you end up really caring for the characters and where they end up in life.