Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy is a drama set in Atlanta and spanning roughly a quarter of a century. Daisy Werthan, an elderly Jewish widow, has reached the point where she can no longer drive herself, so her son Boolie hires a chauffeur named Hoke Colburn. Daisy resists the arrangement from the start, refusing to accept a Black man at the wheel of her car, and the two begin as employer and servant at odds with each other. Over the years, their dealings slowly give way to mutual respect and genuine affection, a bond that develops against the racial prejudices of the American South.

Bruce Beresford directed the film, the sixth of the twenty features he has made in chronological order, following Aria and preceding Her Alibi. Alfred Uhry wrote the screenplay, which he adapted from his own Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Morgan Freeman plays Hoke and Jessica Tandy plays Daisy, with Dan Aykroyd as Boolie, Patti LuPone as Florine and Esther Rolle as Idella among the twenty-four credited cast members.

Released in December 1989, the film cost about 8 million dollars to make and took in roughly 146 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from around 124,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.2 from far fewer votes. Its critics' rating of 7.8 from 106 reviews sits somewhat above both audience scores, indicating stronger approval from reviewers than from the wider public.