Review of Driving Miss Daisy (2015) by Nathan E — 04 Sep 2012

What a great movie. Such a positive message, and told extremely well. Both Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tansy are an absolute joy to see play off each other. And the cinematography gives everything an Andrew Wyeth / Norman Rockwell sort of feel.

Modern movies that tackle the subject of race relations often get bogged down in the minutiae and browbeat the audience with it. What makes this film extraordinary is its ability to convey the simple truth about race: we are all, in fact, individual human beings created by God with a distinct soul and personality. Skin color is arbitrary and has no bearing on a person. Miss Daisy learned this through the course of the film, but it was a subtle change.

In Mark Twain's classic novel, Huck Finn's whole outlook on race changes when he sees Jim cry over not seeing his family. He realizes that Jim is not a slave, but a person. Much in the same way, Daisy treats Hoke shabbily at first because of her stubbornness and prejudices. But as she gets to know him more, she realizes that he is a person, and a very nice one at that, and that all of her preconceived notions were wrong. She begins trusting him more, and ultimately befriends him. A very lovely arc.