Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

dshaskin-44310 Wow - this one takes the cake in bad movies. Ben Kingsley at 70 odd years, is practically covered in black shoe polish to play this part. It's a travesty. Sikhs around the world should protest. Patricia Clarkson is whiny, pathetic and completely unlike-able. The movie meanders from comical to disjointed. As a viewer, I couldn't wait to get out of this claustrophobic, unbelievable car wreck of a movie.It's unbelievable that any reviewer would actually give this film any decent ink. I apologize to any living or dead driving instructors of Sikh or non-Sikh descent. I only hope that no animals were hurt in the making of this film.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a woman whose husband just dumped her. She meets a taxi driver who also works as a driving instructor. She decides to take driving lessons, and in the meantime they learn to navigate their marital problems."Learning To Drive" tells very common life problems, and it provides a very realistic sense of how people deal with these problems. Despite the hardships, the characters cope and the film maintains a sense of optimism and lightheartedness. It is also very refreshing to see Indian actors and culture being prominently portrayed in a film, especially because there is a row over a lack of diversity in the Oscars. I hope more films like this will get made.

quincytheodore Let it be known that I wish Ben Kingsley was my driving instructor, my old one was not friendly, that jerk just yelled at me constantly. Learning to drive can be an outright stressful experience, but the movie makes it interestingly light and approachable by using comedic clash of personalities and cultures. Also, props to the leads for realizing the modest troubled characters.Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) is a distraught wife who just finds out that her husband is cheating on her. Thus begin the arduous dance of divorce. Meanwhile, she's decided to take driving lessons as a cathartic act. Darwan (Ben Kingsley) steps in as the instructor. Both of them have a set of unique problems and serendipitously find solace in each other's company.For a leading female in New York, Wendy is a mess. It's not just Sex and The City mess, but complete wreck for about half of the movie. It's a humble depiction of character as she struggles to come in term with the divorce. The movie maintains a less melodramatic tone, this is a more realistic depiction and not a flamboyant drama.Ben Kingsley plays as a Sikh here, at this point he can play any role extremely well, but it's nice to see him as someone other than some viceroy in medieval epic. There's a great respect to his Indian heritage and it easily looks genuine. He appears to be a calm voice of reason, although his life itself isn't perfect. It's rather humbling to see that someone with mentor persona deals with his own problems.The film doesn't have striking development or twist, it's just a few strolls of a metropolis with two relatable characters. It presents a nice presentation, taking time to display the city's nuance with good cinematography as well as spicing the story with steadily flow of light humor. The scenes feel involving even though the two leads live very contrasting lives.Learning to Drive is a lighthearted drama with nice addition to comedy and amazing acting. Highly recommended for casual audience for the humble and modest nature will soothingly entertain wide range of viewers.

Sonofamoviegeek I agree with the positive reviews of this movie, especially the acting performances of Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley. It's too bad that the story doesn't ask too much of Sarita Choudoury as she's capable of more. It's just great to see that older actors aren't left out of the rom-com genre but that's likely one reason why this movie isn't more popular. There may be some expectation out there that love happens only when one is under 30. When love overcomes age as well as cultural and religious barriers we tend to ask "How did that happen". Instead we should sit back and watch how it develops in Learning to Drive.The other reason Learning to Drive may not be popular is that we somehow expect that love must be always consummated. If Wendy and Darwan did develop their friendship beyond the point of achieving Wendy's goal, that would be doing the wrong thing. Darwan is religious as well as married. We should be happy that he's learned how to relate to a woman and use these new skills on his marriage. And Wendy finally learns how to relate to her daughter and not be work focused.Learning to drive is a must-see