Mark Reviews Movies: DRIVEWAYS

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 7, 2020

It's the little things that matter, that mean so much, and that define who we are and our relationships. Driveways, a little film with a surprisingly emotional punch, understands that.

Screenwriters Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen's story is so simple. Kathy (Hong Chau) and her 8-year-old son Cody (Lucas Jaye) have to clean the house of her recently deceased sister. The sister, who didn't really keep in contact with the family, was a hoarder.

Kathy is overwhelmed by the project and the mounting realization that she never really knew her sister. Cody, a sensitive and whip-smart kid, tries to fit in with the local kids with mixed results.

Meanwhile, next door, Del (the late Brian Dennehy) lives alone. A veteran of the Korean War, his wife died several years ago. He sits in the house or on the porch, waiting to play bingo at the VFW or eating in silence or falling asleep while listening to the radio.

There is such sadness here, and director Andrew Ahn just allows us to consider and feel it with these characters. The turning points for the trio, as well as the bonds they eventually develop, are as modest as the premise. Del helps Cody turn on the hose for a drink of water. Kathy gives the neighbor a ride to see his friends. One morning, Kathy arrives at her sister's electricity-free house to a surprise: a string of extension cords offering power from Del's house.

Ahn is wise enough to know that his film needs nothing more than these moments of the characters alone, coming together, and forming connections based on their shared feeling of loneliness and their unspoken need for help. These are small kindnesses, in actions and in words (Del tells Kathy a story about her sister's generosity, which becomes a story of comfort for Kathy's fears about how the sister died). Here, they mean everything.

The performances match the filmmakers' humble but pointed intentions. Jaye's naturalism evades any clichés of the precocious kid. Chau expertly conveys the grief and guilt of Kathy's loss while trying to maintain an air of strength for her son and herself.

Of course, there's Dennehy, in one of his final performances, as an embodiment of silent mourning and a tough exterior barely hiding a big heart. He ends Driveways with a monologue that's a perfect final note for the film and his career.

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