Directed by: Christian Carion
Written by: Cyril Gely and Christian Carion
Starring: Line Renaud, Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz, Jeremie Laheurte, and Elie Kaempfen
Runtime: 91 minutes
‘Driving Madeleine’: Renaud and Boon empathetically chauffeur this worthwhile Parisian trip
“I haven’t smoked in 30 years, but today’s special” – Madeleine Keller (Line Renaud)
Madeleine is 92 years young, and she’s right about today. However, the word “special” has a double meaning. Our unassuming Parisian nonagenarian is moving into a nursing home, a momentous life event that she might dread more than her own passing, but she secures a taxi to chauffeur her toward an impending end to autonomy.
Her driver, Charles (Dany Boon), is having a bad morning. Financial stress the size of the 7th arrondissement wears on his mood, and this middle-aged husband and father lashes out his frustrations at traffic and life in general.
These two strangers, attempting to cope with their anxieties, connect through happenstance, or perhaps fate, as director Christian Carion captures a lovely, soulful, but also harrowing (which I’ll briefly explain in a moment) trip filled with rich conversation and profound messaging about celebrating and embracing life, no matter how imperfect one’s path may be.
Semantically, “Driving Madeleine” is an accurate title because Ms. Keller’s automobile journey lasts from the beginning to nearly the end of this colloquial-driven picture through a brisk 91-minute runtime. However, rather than always featuring a setting in the present day, Carion frequently sends us into the past, including 1944, when Madeleine reveals her first kiss, one with an American soldier, as she recounts her years to this newly found chaperone maneuvering on Paris’ streets. During these moments, 32-year-old actress Alice Isaaz plays 20th-century Madeleine and leads the audience through everyday happenings and the crossroads that eventually escort her to Charles’ car.
Carion surprisingly steers us into twisty, dark turns in “yester-century” with dramatic shifts in tones that sharply contrast the casual getting-to-know-one-another cab-ride chitchat. Quite frankly, the striking emotional swings – in (the aforementioned) harrowing territory - feel over the top and steeped in far-fetched melodrama, devices frequently employed in the 1980s or 1990s network television movies of the week.
On the other hand, Renaud presents so much flat-out charm and stirs an abundance of empathy while recounting Madeleine’s history (and a genuine hope that Charles will take heed), our lead could’ve uttered that she flew to the Moon and back on Apollo 11, and just about everyone in the movie theatre would genuinely wonder, “Yes, please tell us more about Neil Armstrong.”
The mother-son/aunt-nephew chemistry between Renaud and Boon gushes off the screen, and why not? French audiences know that the two appeared in a few films together, like “La maison du bonheur” (2006), “Welcome to the Sticks” (2008), and “Family is Family” (2018), but for American moviegoers, this pairing seems brand new.
The 95-year-old singer/AIDS activist/actress and 57-year-old comedian/director/screenwriter lean into their characters’ vulnerabilities and actively listen. Madeleine and Charles - as one would expect - build trust, and they both take opportunities in proving it during unplanned detours that also forge our admiration during their urban trek on pavement and cobblestones. Meanwhile, we’re counting down the minutes towards the eventual (or possible) stop at an unwanted adult care facility.
Until then, “Driving Madeleine” offers feelings of rainbows, lollipops, stormy clouds, and castor oil, otherwise known as the human experience. This worthwhile outing – that features a fabulous soundtrack, including Etta James’ “At Last” - also delivers a flourishing collection of The City of Light’s sites, including classic Haussmann architecture, The Arc de Triomphe, La Defense, street cafés, The Eiffel Tower, and more, and all for the price of one movie ticket, a bargain in my book.
Jeff’s ranking
3/4 stars
