With standout performances and earnest storytelling, the story of the cross cultural friendship between a retired Jewish school teacher and her black chauffeur has enough heart to soften the most cynical among us attendingAfter Daisy gets in a car accident, her son, Boolie , demands that she use a driver. Stubborn, she refuses to hire one, so Boolie takes charge. He hires Hoke to drive his mother around town.
When Daisy frivolously invites Hoke to a dinner with Martin Luther King Jr while on the way to the event, Hoke is rightfully offended by the last-minute invitation, but his offense is quickly eclipsed by a clip of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech about theWhen Coleburn is driving Miss Daisy to visit family in Mobile, he becomes overwhelmed by the need to stop and use the bathroom. He tells Daisy, but she demands that he keep going.
Patty Tuel Bailey demonstrates an emotional depth that perfectly conveyed her journey from initial resistance to eventual reliance on Hoke. She learns to care about Hoke’s opinion of her. Bailey’s curious glances over Hoke’s shoulder as he drives or her restrained smile when he impresses her are signs of her growing affection toward him. When the final scene occurs and Bailey smiles open-mouthed and without abandon, it’s heartwarming upon remembering how Daisy used to be.