I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to see the Driven movie world premiere last night. It was my first world premiere, and it’s now the one to judge all other against.
I promise, no spoilers, but I did want to write a quick review of the movie in the hopes of encouraging others to flood the screenings and get this movie the attention it deserves.
Confession and disclosure time. I mostly went to the movie because of Richard Speight, Jr. And I was an Indiegogo backer of the movie (yes, seeing my name on the big screen was cool!). But I walked out of the movie a huge fan of Casey Dillard and Glenn Payne, the people behind the movie.
So a quick summary Emerson Graham (Casey Dillard) is a driver for the Uber-like “Ferry,” and she picks up a passenger who eventually introduces himself as Roger (Richard Speight, Jr.). Roger is an unusual passenger, even to Emerson, as he goes from place to place, hopping out and doing…something. Finally, he hurries back to the car and leaves a bloody handprint on the driver’s window, which, unsurprisingly, freaks out Emerson. Roger tells her he is fighting demons, and the story continues.
The spoiler-free summary makes it sound like yet another “B” movie, and, on the surface, it is. However, several things set it apart. The humor. Dillard has fantastic, spot-on comedic timing for her one-liners, and she and Speight play off of each other well. There is obvious chemistry between them, and their scenes together are wonderful.
The movie is entirely filmed from the inside of Emerson’s car, which makes it an intimate film and devilishly difficult to direct. Glenn Payne, the director, made it all work, and you almost forgot that everything was filmed from inside the car. At times it felt like a much bigger stage.
Because of the intimacy, if the interplay between the actors had been off, the movie would have been tedious, but both the writing and the acting make every scene shine. There are some excellent storytelling choices, like when Emerson pulls into the gas station to fill up, and Roger starts telling her his story while they walk in to pay. We get the first bit and the last bit, which is enough to fill us in without stopping the movie for a long exposition.
The writing is witty, with a couple of running gags that make you laugh every time. If you followed the movie on Twitter, you know about one of them: #turdspoon. I won’t spoil what it means, but I will say the explanation was completely satisfying and worth the wait.
Of course, Richard Speight, Jr. is a fantastic actor, and this is an excellent performance by him. Both I and the person I saw the movie with have decided this is our new favorite Speight, Jr. movie. But Casey Dillard is the one I want to spotlight. She is fantastic, with both acting and writing credits for the movie. She sold this cynical, emotionally awkward character who drives for a living so she can avoid the important things in her life. She is a budding comedian, and her humor and comedic timing are important to the role. But in the end, the character rises above her shortcomings and does what needs to be done. Her journey is poignant, believable and makes the movie what it is. Speight, Jr. couldn’t have carried it on his own, and he didn’t have to. He had a solid partner in Dillard.
Together, they made what looked like another “B” comedic horror movie into something truly special.
I’m listening to the fantastic Captain America: Winter Soldier soundtrack as I write this. I think it’s slightly better than the Civil War soundtrack.