Is another night in NYC, the wet streets after a scatter rain, yellow shapes of taxis passing by non stop, suddenly a man rush to get a cab, his wife is chasing him, she is in distress, after a back seat argument the driver accept to do two separate rides.

This is how the story of Wendy and Darwan starts. “Learning to Drive” is the most recent movie from the female director Isabel Coixet based on a short story from Katha Pollit and written to the screen by Sarah Kernochan.

Patricia Clarkson and Sir Ben Kingsley start in the tale of two lost souls in a very conflicted moment for them. Wendy (Clarkson) plays a book critic and radio interviewee recently dumped by her husband, and Darwan Singh Tur (Kingsley) is a driving instructor and also a moonlight cabbie who is soon to be married to an Indian woman in an arranged marriage.

Mrs Coixet approach to the story is to show a parallel life for both of them. The wealthy life of the Upper West side and a most mundane life in Queens. A manuscript from Wendy left in Darwan cab connects them, is like a divine intervention. Wendy is in her most vulnerable time while for her new cabbie friend Darwan security and strength he represents her light at the end of the tunnel, a way out for her.

Don’t get confuse with the story, this is not a romantic story, is a story of friendship how two cultures collide, while one person is highly educated book critic, the other is a well manner immigrant, with aspirations and dreams, but relegated in America by racial discrimination.

Darwan offers Wendy to teach her how to drive, not just because she don’t know how to, is because metaphorically speaking, Darwan is capable to put her on track in her life. “When you are cooking, how do you know if you put enough spices? By tasting, the same way is for driving, you have to taste the road” Wendy and Darwan grows deeper, they discover more of them, their fears and of course their aspirations.

Now that the road direction seems clear, a new detour comes. Jasleen (Sarita Choudhury) the arranged bride arrived to NYC, while the encounter is not the perfect one; Jasleen and Darwan have to adapt themselves to this new situation. The road needs some adjustments with a little bit of sacrifice.

I praise the simplicity and honesty of this film, which just try to describe an honest friendship that grows inside a car, by teaching one another that life can be very complicated if we hold ourselves to things and we are not capable of let go, let go anger, fears, sadness even some dreams.

Clarkson and Kingsley are perfect in their roles. The film is a real treat thanks to director Isabel Coixet. Beautiful edited by Thelma Scoonmaker and Keith Reamer.