Driving Miss Daisy

Drama | English | 99 minutes

Info

Daisy Werthan, a 72-year-old retired, Jewish, schoolteacher living alone in Atlanta, drives her car into her neighbor’s yard. Her son Boolie is concerned and hires Hoke Colburn, an African American chauffeur, to drive her around. Initially, Miss Daisy resents having a driver so she treats Hoke with disrespect. However, as Daisy and Hoke spend time together, Daisy begins to appreciate Hoke’s many attributes and his basic decency. It’s 1948, a period in the South when there is not only widespread racism but also anti-Semitism. Miss Daisy and Hoke begin to understand what the other is going through. Age catches up with Miss Daisy and Boolie is forced to put her in an assisted living home. Boolie drives the 85-year-old Hoke to visit 97-year-old Miss Daisy. Miss Daisy recognizes the feeble Hoke. She has strong feelings for him. She calls him her “best friend.”

Cast

Morgan Freeman (Hoke Colburn) / Jessica Tandy (Daisy Werthan) / Dan Aykroyd (Boolie Werthan)

Why Stream This Film?

Well, it did win the Oscar for Best Picture. Acting schools cannot give students a better lesson than to have them watch the performances of Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy.

Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics Consensus): 82%
Metacritic Score: 81

Accolades

Academy Awards: Winner, Best Picture; Best Actress (Jessica Tandy); Best Screenplay (Alfred Uhry)
Golden Globe Awards: Winner, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman); Best Actress (Jessica Tandy)
National Board of Review: Winner, Best Film; Best Actor (Morgan Freeman)
Producers Guild of America Awards: Winner, Outstanding Producer (Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck)
Writers Guild of America Awards: Winner, Best Screenplay (Alfred Uhry)