In Driving Madeleine, a ninety-two year-old Parisienne, having outlived her family, must move from her apartment to a nursing home. Madeleine (Line Renaud) cajoles her harried cabbie Charles (Dany Boon) to visit some of her old haunts along the way. As they stop at the locations where Madeleine’s life pivoted, director Christian Carion reveals that Madeleine has lived a helluva life, one spanning ecstasy, tragedy and even notoriety.
Charles’ family is facing severe financial pressure, he is one traffic violation away from losing his taxi license, and he is practically vibrating from the stress. As he reluctantly complies with Madeleine’s circuitous wishes, he takes some lessons from her life and softens. Driving Madeleine is an unflinchingly sentimental film, which is okay because it’s not trying to be anything else. There is a place for sweet, heartfelt movies.
Driving Madeline’s sweetness doesn’t get syrupy because of the painful injustices Madeleine survived in pre-feminist 1950s France. The cause of her notoriety is an act that I haven’t seen depicted before.
Actress-singer Line Renaud is actually older than her character, and she delivers the mischievousness and steely toughness that is Madeleine. The versatile comedian/actor/writer director Dany Boon easily inhabits the role of Charles; (Boon, often cast in broad comedies, is also in the recent The Crime Is Mine, which will release on VOD within a month.) Alice Isaaz is excellent in flashbacks as the young Madeleine.
Driving Madeleine’s opening tomorrow includes the Landmark Sunset 5 and the Landmark Pasadena; it opens more widely next weekend, including at the Opera Plaza in San Francisco.