Ticket 2 Ride

Driving Madeline (2024) is a small, French drama about a struggling taxi driver and his elderly fare, Madeleine.

On rottentomatoes.com, 94 percent of critics and 96 percent of viewers liked Driving Madeleine. That’s a pretty good recommendation, so I took a risk on this film. Just from the film poster, one might infer a French version of Driving Miss Daisy, or even Green Book. A driver and passenger are all these film have in common. Instead of a traditional road film, Driving Madeleine takes place on the streets around Paris.

However, like other road films, it’s less about the destination, and more centrally about the characters’ journey. The taxi driver is Charles (Dany Boon), a sour man who isn’t interested in knowing his fares. Madeleine Keller (Line Renaud) is a 92 year old who is not in a hurry and peppers Charles with questions, and side trips to avoid her destination.

The majority of the film takes place in the car, as Charles drives Madeleine to what turns out to be a senior facility, that she is clearly unhappy to be going.

Madeleine’s past is revealed during the course of the trip, told through a series of flashbacks. Madeleine’s story is a sad one, but she’s a survivor and a fighter, who dealt with adversity and the unfortunate detours in life. She grew and rebounded from these events to live a long life. Sadly, she has outlived everyone in her life, which may be the reason she forms a friendship with Charles.

Speaking of Charles, we learn he has money problems, and driving violations, that threaten his career, until Madeleine steps in. Gradually, Charles loses much of his sour attitude and takes an interest in Madeleine’s story. Over the course of a day, a friendship grows, as well as a deep sense of respect between them.

Perseverance, belief, and using your own triumphant to help lift others, are among the underlying themes of this story. This film could easily have been a sentimental and melodramatic tale, given its subject matter and in the hands of less talented people.

Director Christian Carion handles the story with finesse but doesn’t hold back. There are some very painful parts of Madeleine’s life that Carion doesn’t hold back from showing, including the impact on her. The film is mainly a drama, but it’s not a downer, as Carion adds lighter moments to give the audience some relief and to show the characters’ realism.

Carion also uses an interesting camera technique since most of the action takes place in the car. Instead of using green screen to create a sense of the car traveling the Paris streets, 4K monitors surrounding the car in the studio provides a variety of street scenes shot at numerous angles. The effect is very realistic.

The strength of the story is the writing, but the strength of the film is the acting. Boon and Renauld are joined by a superior supporting cast.

Small films like Driving Madeleine are worthwhile to seek out and see in the theater if possible, but see it however you can.

4.5/5

Other worthy road films…

Road films offer a distinctive view of the road and afford a look into the characters on the journey. It Happened One Night, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert was considered racy and quite daring for its time. Stagecoach was a road Western, and made John Wayne a star. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made a series of silly road films. Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman could not recreate that magic for Ishtar. Planes, Trains and Automobiles did.

Road films are a great format to explore a character’s inward and outward journeys. Here are a few road films from my list.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Sentimental, but a totally absorbing film, with great acting and thoughtful direction.

Green Book (2018), The reality of African-Americans traveling in the South during 1960s.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and a Trans Am. Not a great film, but a hugely popular one.

Locke (2013), A man juggles multiple problems and phone calls, both business and personal, as he drives toward a decision that will forever change his life.

Thelma & Louise (1991), Two women and a car, in search of freedom.

Vanishing Point (1971), A trippy, amphetamine fueled high-speed car chase across the desert to California.

Duel (1971), Steven Spielberg directed this thriller of an oil tanker truck terrorizing Dennis Weaver in his family sedan on a lonesome California highway.

The Road Warrior (1981), The second Mad Max film set in a future of warring gangs in search of petrol.

Death Proof (2007), Kurt Russell in Quentin Tarantino’s road kill film of revenge.

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), James Taylor and Dennis Wilson are a racing team on the road. Little seen, but worth a look.

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Bank robbers in a hot car evading a determined cop in a helicopter.

Paul (2011), Two comic book nerds on a roadtrip across the American Southwest in search of UFO locations, and encounter a real alien.

Chef (2014), A cross-country trip to find the right menu, and for a father to connect with his son.

Sideways (2004), A journey through the wine country for one guy to sow his last wild oats, and another man to find his way out of his own loss of confidence.

Easy Rider (1969), Two wild spirits in search for American; unfortunately they find it.

The Passenger (1975), Jack Nicholson is a reporter who switches identities with a dead man, and discovers that wasn’t a wise idea.