driving miss daisy takes its sweet time to tell a small , intimate story .
it’s a quiet film , a slow film , a deliberate film .
but if you’re patient with it , the movie offers innumerable rewards , such as a pair of self-assured performances by morgan freeman and jessica tandy .
driving miss daisy is based on alfred uhry’s pulitzer-prize winning play of the same name , which first opened in new york four years ago .
the play has garnered international acclaim with productions in chicago , los angeles , london , vienna , norway , and the soviet union .
uhry himself wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of driving miss daisy ; he also penned the wonderful sleeper , mystic pizza .
the film , like the play , is set in atlanta , georgia , and it revolves around two people in their twilight years : a cranky , 70-something jewish widow who feels guilty about her wealth and a 60-something black man who becomes her chauffeur .
the movie relies on character , rather than plot , to propel the action .
in fact , the movie has no discernible plot in the traditional sense ; it doesn’t present a linear story in which all the scenes flow together .
rather , driving miss daisy is made up of the routine activities of everyday life : shopping , listening to the radio , visiting the cemetery , eating fried chicken , and so on .
the film also incorporates into the story line actual events in atlanta’s history , including the 1958 bombing of the temple ( the city’s oldest jewish congregation ) and a 1965 ceremony honoring the reverend dr . martin luther king , jr .
the story begins in 1948 with daisy ( tandy ) crashing and wrecking her packard as she pulls out of her driveway .
the insurance company cancels her insurance , and her son , boolie , decides to hire her a chauffeur .
freeman , reprising his role from the play , plays the chauffeur , hoke .
the film chronicles the warm friendship that slowly but surely blossoms between the chauffeur and his reluctant passenger .
driving miss daisy is a movie about human nature , aging , prejudice , and a great many other things , but more than anything it’s about a relationship : one that spans 25 years , 4 cars , the advent of civil rights , and one gravely important 33 cent can of salmon .
daisy is strong-willed and set in her ways , and , from the outset , she is utterly opposed to the idea of having a chauffeur .
initially , she treats hoke with contempt , refusing to let him drive her anywhere .
once she does get in the car , daisy is the ultimate back-seat driver .
to make matters worse , she is extremely self-conscious about what others might think if they were to see her being escorted around town by a hired hand .
eventually , however , daisy is worn down by hoke’s good-natured charm and infectious cheer ; she softens and opens up to him .
tandy plays the part of daisy exceedingly well , but unfortunately this feisty , cantankerous character is just a smidgen too commonplace .
we’ve seen this woman countless times before in other incarnations , from on golden pond to cocoon .
nevertheless , tandy manages to put enough of a personal stamp on the familiar character to make it her own .
freeman , as hoke , on the other hand , gives the more distinctive of the two performances .
there is something profoundly moving about the way hoke maintains his pride and dignity in a society which forbids him from using public rest rooms because of his skin color .
hoke is uneducated and illiterate , but freeman always suggests that there is something more to this man , an inner strength beneath the simpleton exterior .
both freeman and tandy seem to be in their element , in full command of their natural charisma .
they flirt with the camera and dominate scenes without overtly calling attention to themselves .
they bring a light touch to their humorous banter and to the movie’s gentle humor .
at the same time , tandy and freeman provide more than a few moments of truly poignant drama .
in his first dramatic role , dan aykroyd is surprisingly chubby and unexpectedly effective as boolie , tandy’s loving and patient son .
drama seems to agree with aykroyd ; taking a break from comedy seems like a good move for the actor , especially when you consider the wretched comedies he has made recently ( ghostbusters ii , the great outdoors , my stepmother is an alien ) .
the only other significant characters in the film are daisy’s housekeeper , idella , marvelously played by esther rolle ( ” good times ” ) , and boolie’s pretentious wife , played by patti lupone .
under the direction of bruce beresford ( crimes of the heart , tender mercies ) , driving miss daisy seems a bit stagey now and again .
but fortunately , beresford never forgets he’s shooting a movie , and accordingly , he offers plenty of striking cinematic touches , such as gorgeous shots of flowers , trees , and tomatoes .
in adapting driving miss daisy from the stage to the screen , the filmmakers have achieved a delicate subtlety .
uhry understands that what his characters do not say can be just as important as what they do say .
beresford wisely exercises restraint in the film’s dramatic moments .
the movie tugs at your heart , but it never goes for the jugular .
the only sap in driving miss daisy is in the trees .