Learning to Drive is a film directed by Isabel Coixet, released in 2014 and it deals with the role of women in the society. Although it seems that an Indian Sikh woman must have a much different life than an American woman from the upper class, they have things in common as well. This film is an example of gender equality in America.
Wendy is a book editor and a critic who goes through a divorce and she has to become better equipped for life. She never thought that it was important for her to drive and once her husband leaves, she takes driving lessons. Darwan is an intelligent and interesting man who is great at teaching people and listening to them. He is a Sikh and he got a political asylum in the U.S. because of his ideas back in India where he was a professor. He is a great intellectual working as a driving instructor part time and he meets Wendy at the time when both of them are going through life crises.
Darwan’s sister found Jasleen and arranged for her to go to New York and marry Darwan. He is not excited about that, although he is a good person. Jasleen is very uneducated and not a slight bit intellectual which is unimaginable for Darwan. On the other hand, Wendy is an educated woman and the two of them attract each other, but nothing happens on the romantic level between the two of them.
Wendy welcomes a new chapter in her life instead of feeling bitter and rejected. Her daughter is a college student and she is also aware of the fact that her father has a new love in his life. This should be hard for Wendy to accept, but she is a strong, powerful woman with so much more to offer. She says: “I just don't understand why men do that, wag their balls in your face” (Coixet, Learning to Drive). Car and driving represent freedom and that is why this is a liberating experience for Wendy. On the other hand, Jasleen, is a woman who prefers to stay at home which is the main difference between these two women. The similarity between the two of them lies in the fact that Wendy needed to be abandoned by her husband to get a wish to learn how to drive, while Jasleen got an arranged marriage to move from India.
There is much talk about rights and privileges in life in this film and it is not only related to women. Darwan is mistreated for wearing a turban: “The film’s adjustment allows us to witness anti-Arab sentiment in New York, even towards people who aren’t Arab. (When Darwan shows his papers and says he’s been a citizen since 2000, the cop mutters: “In just under the wire, huh?”)” (Hoffman). This is a mean assumption, but it represents the sentiment that people of one race have towards other races. There are also people from India who are illegal immigrants and they share apartments. Wendy is a woman who is testing her own mental strength: “Like many longtime New Yorkers, Wendy has relied on public transportation” (Holden). The story happens in New York, which is a melting pot of different cultures and races. There are many Indians there and Darwan is a pretty unusual man. Wendy is an extraordinary woman as well and Jasleen is just a common Sikh woman who is not intellectual enough to be a good companion to Darwan, although she is equipped with skills that make her a good and obedient housewife.
Wendy gets accustomed to her new life in which she is single and she is very open towards it. On the other hand, Jasleen is a woman who comes from a culture in which she never even saw Darwan before their marriage was set up. She is supposed to get a husband in order to have a normal life, while Wendy becomes an independent woman after years of marriage. The marriage was bad because her husband would cheat on her from time to time, but this time, it is final. She is the kind of woman who would go over his infidelity, but he chooses to leave her for another woman. “Wendy is an upper-middle-class woman of letters with a highbrow reputation. One of her saddest realizations when abandoned is that her marriage might have lasted had her passion for literature not taken precedence” (Hoffman). Wendy is ready to forgive everything as long as she is allowed do what she loves most and this is related to her work. It is no surprise that her husband leaves her because he is a professor and has young and attractive students.
There is a difference between marriages in America and India and everybody has to pay a price because “the American ideal of unlimited personal freedom has its price” (Holden). On the other hand, Jasleen never leaves home and her new friends believe that Darwan does not let her. However, she was brought up to be a housewife and she believes that her place is at home and in the kitchen. She does not even speak English well, which is why Darwan is so disappointed. It is unusual for someone living in a liberal and democratic country like America to still preserve old tradition which includes pre-arranged marriages. However, Darwan welcomes Jasleen at the airport and their personal journey begins. He is not the kind of a man who would cheat on his wife, like Ted, and the truth is that there is not much more freedom between Sikh marriages and American marriages. If there is too much freedom in an American marriage, it is bound to fall apart, which happens to Wendy, although she relies on her husband for driving.
The meeting between Wendy and Darwan happens because of fate when she leaves her manuscript in his taxi. He locates her and brings it back to her which inspires her to begin driving lessons. Darwan is a taxi driver who also teaches driving “and Wendy doesn’t know how to drive, even though a driver’s license—plus a car, which she can afford—would give her a measure of autonomy that she never had, or sought, in her marriage” (Morgenstern). Wendy could have had this autonomy, but she never wanted it because she believed that her husband would always be around. When she turns out to be wrong, she takes driving lessons as an escape from reality, but also as a way to get behind the steering wheel. She wants to have control over her life as well as freedom ad driving is the best way for her to achieve that.
Jasleen is a traditional Sikh woman who is happy that she got an arranged marriage. Although she can enjoy New York and visit all of its amazing sites, she decides to stay at home because that is what she is used to. On the other hand, Darwan explores the city all the time, knows great cultures and is a perfect intellectual and a good psychologist. He works as a driving instructor because he does not want to stop wearing his turban or shave his bead because he believes that these represent his cultural heritage and therefore his identity. This film is about finding identity and the characters help one another with that. It is the best role in life that a person can have because it teaches people the most important life lessons and it is never too late to have them. Although Wendy is not a young woman, she still has a zest for life and interest in men.
Both Wendy and Jasleen begin living new lives and they get used to this in different ways. Wendy is encouraged to be lead a better life and “under Darwan’s gentle tutelage, she’s reminded that it’s important to keep moving forward, to learn how to pick up signals and, of course, to keep venturing out of her comfort — er, parking — zone, however gingerly” (Hornaday). Driving a car is a metaphor for living a life without prejudice and with full enjoyment. Getting out of a comfort zone brings new experiences and this happens both to Wendy and Jasleen. Darwan is the person who is present in the lives of both of them, but while Jasleen has her traditional and religious rules to live by, Wendy has her freedom although she does not know what to do with it. Nothing in life is perfect ad each person has to create a good life in accordance with their personal rules and preferences.
It is important for women to be independent and Wendy realizes that only after her marriage falls apart. She begins driving lessons in order “to be able to visit her daughter (Grace Gummer) in Vermont, but in reality to open the passenger door for a raft of convenient metaphors” (Hornaday). These metaphors are related to the similarities between life and driving because driving a car gives people freedom which is important in life. Women are always the weaker sex in the society and learning how to drive is a metaphor for learning how to live a self-indulging life. After being married for over twenty years, she goes to bed with a banker for just one night. They enjoy their time together, but Wendy does not get emotionally involved.
There is gender equality in America and it can be seen in this film. Even Wendy’s husband asks for financial support after they get a divorce. Jasleen is different, but she also changes throughout the film because she begins to study English and she meets new friends. Both of the women are liberated and they are ready to assume new roles in life.
Works Cited
Coixet, Isabel, dir. Learning to Drive. Broad Green Pictures, 2014. Film.
Holden, Stephen. "Review: ‘Learning to Drive’ Charts a Culture-Bridging Friendship." The New York Times 20 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/movies/review-learning-to-drive-charts-a-culture-bridging-friendship.html?_r=0>.
Hoffman, Jordan. "Learning to Drive review – touching, insightful and occasionally unpredictable." The Guardian 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/17/learning-to-drive-review-touching-insightful-occasionally-unpredictable>.
Hornaday, Ann. "Review: ‘Learning to Drive’ chugs along, never leaving low gear." The Washington Post 20 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/review-learning-to-drive-chugs-along-never-leaving-low-gear/2015/09/02/8c00a7e6-4c2a-11e5-902f-39e9219e574b_story.html?tid=kp_google>.
Morgenstern, Joe. "‘Learning to Drive’ Review: Low-Gear Rom-Com." The Wall Street Journal Aug. . Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/learning-to-drive-review-low-gear-rom-com-1440090927>.
