I'll tell you what I didn't like about Driving Miss Daisy. It sets itself up to be an important emotional movie with a message but has virtually none of those qualities. It offers minimal insight to anything meaningful and its subdued drama lacks any real punch. Its premise feels promising but fails to deliver upon it. I just felt it was an uninspiring and bland movie.
The film opens with Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) backing her car into her neighbor's yard. Her son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) decides she should no longer drive for herself and gets her a chauffeur, Hoke (Morgan Freeman). Miss Daisy is a fiercely proud independent woman who doesn't like to be catered to. As for Hoke, well, I'm not exactly sure what he brings to the table other than to serve and cater. The rest of the film chronicles their relationship together spanning over 25 years.
Buddying up an old Southern white woman with an older black man in pre-Civil Rights Georgia, you'd assume the film has something poignent to say about race relations or prejudice but Driving Miss Daisy
glosses over these subjects ever so briefly and unconvincingly. There are no heated arguments or big confrontations, no moment of outrage or injustice. There is a scene in the film when Hoke and Miss Daisy drive to Mississippi and are met by police officers on the side of the road. They approach Hoke and call out, "Hey boy." Perhaps this is where Miss Daisy defends Hoke, perhaps this is where she sees the discrimination against blacks? Nope, nothing happens and the two are allowed to drive off. As they disappear in the distance, one officer turns to the other and says, "A nigger and a Jew..." Am I outraged? No, because the comment feels thrown in at the end of the scene. Nothing comes out of it other than to remind the viewer, "Hey, look at what these two characters must go through!" Except they do not go through anything of that sort. Yes, Hoke is not allowed to go to the white only bathrooms and must go in the side of the road. There are little instances throughout the film where Miss Daisy is presented with these facts but she is either too stubborn to notice or isn't much of a friend to Hoke. The film spans 25 years, but do we see any real growth in her views? Not really.
So maybe this film isn't supposed to really be about that. It is about the friendship between Miss Daisy and Hoke. Okay, that's fine, and it does work a little better in this regard, but we don't really learn anything about this friendship. We don't learn anything from this friendship. There is no real heart to heart moment. Miss Daisy doesn't really confide to Hoke and she learns virtually nothing about Hoke but bits and pieces. In their 25 years together, does she ever ask him about his family? Does she ever ask him what it was like growing up or where he came from? Does she ever invite him to eat at her table? We are shown fragments of their time together. Time passes unannounced, they slowly grow older and more fond of each other. It shows that if two people are around each other long enough then perhaps they can get along. Um, okay.
There are obviously key moments to the film to signify their friendship. One comes when Hoke admits to Miss Daisy that he cannot read. As a former teacher, she is incredulous. She gives him a one minute lesson right then and there. Now he can read. Deep sigh, eyes roll. In a film about small gestures and subtleties, it probably would have been better if they just threw out this scene all together or at least present it in a softer manner.
I am probably in the minority here, but I found the portrayal of Hoke offensive. He is shown as a man of infinite patience and thoughtfulness on an almost unrealistic level. He seems far too eager to please as if his life's mission was to serve. I don't mean to presume how other people think, but I wonder how African Americans might view Hoke. (I know what Malcolm X would have thought.) Undoubtedly he is kind and good natured but he seems to lack any other dimension. I cringed the first time he spoke in his aw shucks gee golly manner. Why is it that his humanity is defined by his relationship to Miss Daisy, or better yet, white people? In this film it should be the other way around, but it isn't. I might go as far as to say that I was a little appalled.
It is remarkable how Miss Daisy slowly ages in the film. On a personal note, I was a little saddened to see it because it reminded me of my own grandmother who recently celebrated her 90th birthday. I cannot help but wonder in the back of mind how many more she may have left. But regarding Miss Daisy's character, I've already mentioned she does not grow in the manner that you'd expect. It is never clear why she is worthy of Hoke's faithfulness. What is it that she actually learns from her friendship? What do we learn from this friendship? Not much.
Grade: C-
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