Driveways

The most important thing about Driveways is Brian Dennehy‘s performance. It’s one of his last four starring roles. While Dennehy has played some more bombastic characters, Del shows a sensitivity that makes it even sadder that Dennehy is no longer with us. The friendship between Del and Cody is precious and the driving force of the film. Cody is a special kid who has a hard time finding friends and seeing him so happy with someone 70+ his senior is heartwarming.

Driveways is short but effective. It’s more about mood than the overall plot. It’s about facing changes that one might not look forward to, whether it’s pack up your hoarder sister’s house, play with some dumb loud kids you have nothing in common with, or leave your home to spend the rest of your days in a retirement community. It’s a character study of Kathy, Cody, and Del and their ever-growing bonds. Hong Chau is great, but after seeing her in Watchmen, that’s not a surprise. Lucas Jaye is a phenomenal child actor and I’m looking forward to seeing him in more films.

“…Del shows a sensitivity that makes it even sadder that Dennehy is no longer with us.”

I would check out Driveways, mainly for Brian Dennehy, then for Hong Chau, but their performances and the story will pull you in. It’s a very nuanced, human story, that doesn’t rely on explosions or violence (well, there are some fireworks) to get it’s point across. It’ll make you think about your own relationship with your family, for better or worse, and it’ll make you reconsider how you treat the people in your life on a day to day basis. Overall, I think that Andrew Ahn did a great job with his first feature film for American audiences. I’m interested to see what he comes up with next.