Driving Madeleine

Directed by Christian Carion, Driving Madeleine follows a grizzled taxi driver (Dany Boon’s Charles) as he agrees to shuttle an elderly passenger (Line Renaud’s Madeleine) all the way across town – with the journey eventually (and inevitably) paving the way for an unlikely friendship. It’s a fairly routine setup that’s employed to less-than-fresh yet mostly entertaining effect by Carion, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Cyril Gely’s screenplay, delivers a Before Sunrise-like opening stretch that proves effective at establishing the central characters and their growing respect for one another – with the compulsively watchable vibe enhanced by the superb work of both Boon and Renaud. The lighthearted bent of the movie’s first act gives way to a midsection that’s certainly far darker than one might’ve initially anticipated, as Carion begins delving into Madeleine’s disturbing past with the assistance of several compelling flashbacks (in which Alice Isaaz ably steps into the shoes of a young Madeleine). And although the picture admittedly does boast a small handful of lulls, Driving Madeleine builds towards a climax that packs a fairly (and unexpectedly) palpable emotional punch and ensures that the whole thing ends on a seriously positive note – with the end result a crowdpleaser that boasts, at its core, a pair of phenomenal lead performances.

*** out of ****