Driveways (2019)

I recently watched this indie film and really liked it. It’s from a genre that I love, namely Broken People Find a Bit of Solace in Each Other. When they’re done well, movies like that can just sing, and this one’s pretty great.

Cody and his mom Kathy have just arrived in town, strangers out of place. They’re there to pack up the house of Kathy’s estranged sister, who just passed away. But the job is bigger than either of them anticipated, discovering that Kathy’s sister was a hoarder who’d struggled with her mental health. In between helping his mom with this monumental task, the shy, awkward Cody makes friends with a lonely Korean War vet.

I love stories about lonely people finding each other, I love stories about offbeat people who don’t know how to relate to others, I love stories about people who have too many burdens but are still trying to do the best they can, and I love stories about people reaching out to each other with small acts of kindness. In other words, there’s a lot about this movie that appeals to me. It manages to thread that indie-movie needle of having kind of a meandering plot but still feeling tight and intentional because the small cast of characters is so well-drawn. The story takes its time, but every scene is there for a reason.

This is a film with a lot of heart, and watching it during a pandemic just increased the impact of its considerable feels. The connections made by the characters, large and small, are so human and quietly loving. There’s something so down-to-earth and sweet about Del, the veteran, making Cody feel better about throwing up in front of some other kids (due to social anxiety) by recounting an episode of his own from his days serving on a ship (it wasn’t the rough seas that did it, it was getting latrine duty and having to clean up the results of everything else’s seasickness.) I love a quiet moment when the realtor comes to Kathy’s sister’s house for a walkthrough and, seeing the accumulated mountains of junk, expresses that it’s too much for one person to deal with. Kathy’s attempts to make Cody’s birthday special, in a strange place and with limited means, are heartwarming to see in a mom who probably feels like she’s getting everything wrong a lot of the time.

In any character- and relationship-driven film, the acting is paramount, and all the major players here really deliver. Brian Dennehy, performing in one of his final roles, is wonderfully affecting as Del, a solid guy who’s able to see outside of his own loneliness to connect with someone else who’s having a hard time. Hong Chau, who I last saw as Lady Trieu in Watchmen, turns in nice work as Kathy, an overstressed single mom who’s finding her way as she goes in raising her sweet, oddball kid. And I’m not familiar with young Lucas Jaye, but he’s great as Cody, grounded and unprecocious. The interplay between all three is excellent, and the minor characters/actors round out the film nicely.

Warnings

Language, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.