‘Driveways’ a fond farewell to Dennehy
On its own, “Driveways” would be a sweet, understated masterpiece, simply told, of human connection. But with the death of longtime distinguished stage and movie actor Brian Dennehy on April 15, director Andrew Ahn allows us to say a proper goodbye to the big fella, who gets the final six minutes of the movie all to himself.
The film streams exclusively through the Smith Rafael Film Center’s Rafael@Home virtual cinema series for a $12, 72hour rental and is available for rental on iTunes starting Thursday, May 7.
Dennehy plays Del, an octogenarian widower and veteran who forms a grandfatherly relationship with the fatherless Cody (Lucas Jaye), the 8yearold son of Kathy (Hong Chau), a single mother who, one gets the sense, doesn’t really like being a mother.
Kathy and Cody enter Del’s life when they arrive from out of town to handle the estate of Kathy’s sister, which is mainly the rundown house next door to Del’s.
After Cody and Del first exchange pleasantries, the standoffish Kathy gruffly warns Del, “I told him not to talk to strangers.”
“Good idea,” Del mutters.
But Cody, craving a male figure in his life, is undeterred. With Kathy constantly preoccupied, Del and Cody bond. They talk life, and he even teaches Cody to drive (well, a riding mower).
Although it’s not explicitly spelled out — the talented Ahn (“Spa Night”) is subtle in his approach — Del sets an example for Kathy, too. She can see the change in Cody, and as she becomes more comfortable around Del, she becomes a better mother. Parenting isn’t her natural thing, but she’s warming up to the idea.
Dennehy, a former college football player, Marine, taxi driver and bartender, blossomed into an excellent stage actor, winning Tony Awards for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” (1999) and Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s
Journey Into Night” (2003) — he was especially known for his work in revivals of O’Neill’s plays. Onscreen, he never stopped working from 1977 on, and for a time in the 1980s it seemed like he was in every other movie, including sheriffs in “First Blood” and “Silverado”; an alien in “Cocoon”; a juicy costarring role in “Best Seller,” with James Woods; and the cop that aids special effects man Bryan Brown in “F/X.”
He brings that wealth of experience in worldweary fashion when he sits with Cody on his porch steps and launches into a monologue about his regrets, his dreams, his failures and the passing decades of life.
His advice to Cody: “Drive a little slower. Take your time. Take a good look at stuff.”