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USA 1989
Directed by
Bruce Beresford
94 minutes
Rated PG

Reviewed by
Bernard Hemingway
3.5 stars

Driving Miss Daisy

Based on a hit play by Alfred Uhry who also wrote the screenplay this story about the 20 year relationship between a cranky old Southern woman (Jessica Tandy) and her black chauffeur (Morgan Freeman) is one of those films that are so charming that they're impossible not to like.

Picture-postcard pretty, solidly written and smoothly directed it rolls along like a well-oiled machine although Hans Zimmer's synthesizer score is jarringly incongrous. The film also has trouble bridging the years, about midway some indeterminately large chunk of time supposedly elapsing, signalled by Dan Ackroyd aging dramatically. It won Oscars for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and, somewhat incongruously given Dan Ackroyd's bulging, heavily powdered head, Make-Up, as well as Best Actress for Tandy, who won the part from Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury. Australian director Beresford, however, was ignored by the Academy, as was Morgan Freeman who had played the role on Broadway. Ackroyd, best known hitherto as comedian, plays it straight role as Miss Daisy's portly son and is quite effective.


 

 

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