Learning to Drive is about how two lives intersect, one of Darwan (a taxi driver and a person who gives driving lessons) and the other of Wendy (a book critic with a failing marriage) Wendy and her husband take a taxi where they have a fight over the husband's cheating. Darwan is the taxi driver. Later on, he comes back to Wendy's place to return a folder Wendy left behind in the taxi. That's when Wendy notices the driving lesson placard on Darwan's car. She decides to get driving lessons from Darwan, having always relied on her husband to drive and striving to be independent and visit her daughter in Vermont. Meanwhile, Darwan gets married to Jasleen, a woman from his native Indian village, in an arranged marriage setting.
The portrayal of Darwan by Ben Kingsley was very well done. Being an Indian myself, the mannerisms and behavior of Sikh people shown in the movie were pretty close to reality. Ben's Indian accent was also good without being too typical.
While the premise is good, the story simple, there were a few flaws. I thought the character of Wendy wasn't given enough attention. The events in her life do seem haphazard and there was no character development. The mother-daughter relationship of Wendy and Tasha also seemed stretched and unnecessary. Yet another issue, Jasleen is from Darwan's native place, yet they don't speak in Punjabi or Hindi at all, especially given that Jasleen's English is not that good.
With that said, the chemistry between Wendy and Darwan was good and there were a few funny moments. Overall a 6/10 for me.
The portrayal of Darwan by Ben Kingsley was very well done. Being an Indian myself, the mannerisms and behavior of Sikh people shown in the movie were pretty close to reality. Ben's Indian accent was also good without being too typical.
While the premise is good, the story simple, there were a few flaws. I thought the character of Wendy wasn't given enough attention. The events in her life do seem haphazard and there was no character development. The mother-daughter relationship of Wendy and Tasha also seemed stretched and unnecessary. Yet another issue, Jasleen is from Darwan's native place, yet they don't speak in Punjabi or Hindi at all, especially given that Jasleen's English is not that good.
With that said, the chemistry between Wendy and Darwan was good and there were a few funny moments. Overall a 6/10 for me.