Pros: Little-known events surrounding the creation of the most famous car in history; 80s ambiance last century; soundtrack; DMC DeLorean Cons: The attempt to turn John DeLorean’s tragedy into a comedy doesn’t seem quite right; many inaccuracies and clearly fictitious details; the actors somewhat overact Driven / “Million Dollar Car”
Genre crime drama, comedy
Director Nick Hamm
Starring Lee Pace (John DeLorean), Jason Sudeikis (Jim Hoffman), Judy Greer (Ellen Hoffman), Corey Stoll (Benedict Tissa), Isabel Irraiza (Christina DeLorean), etc.
Студии Romulus Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Year of release 2019
IMDb website
“DMC DeLorean will be remembered, I will be remembered, and this unfortunate misunderstanding will be forgotten in a few years” – these are the words the Driven screenwriters put into the mouth of John DeLorean. And this is one hundred percent true. The DMC DeLorean is one of the most famous, if not the most famous car built in 120 years. The name of John DeLorean is still remembered as the name of one of the most talented car designers of the mid-20th century, but only a few remember the events of October 1982 that brought DeLorean to the dock.
The authors of Driven decided to tell the story of DMC, John DeLorean and 27 kilograms of cocaine in the spirit of another biographical comedy with a similar plot – American Made. But if in American Made most of the film was drawn out by the charisma of Tom Cruise, playing the role of pilot and adventurer Barry Seal, then in Driven Jason Sudeikis and his character, also, by the way, former pilot and FBI informant Jim Hoffman, do not fit into the role of a hero. He is cowardly, downright stupid, short-sighted and yes, he is setting up his best friend, the man he calls his idol.
In general, localizing the original title Driven as “Million Dollar Car” is a big mistake of the distributors. Driven translated from English is not only driven, controlled, driven, but also determined to achieve success, very energetic and motivated. And this play on words perfectly reflects the essence of the film. Driven is not a crime comedy about an FBI informant who fooled everyone. This is the tragedy of a man who is ready to do anything, literally anything, to save his business and achieve success. This is not a comedy by Jim Hoffman, but a tragedy by John DeLorean, who was so passionate about winning that he went all in and… lost.
The appearance of the film Driven right now is due to Hollywood’s heightened interest in the 80s. last century. And, of course, the ambiance of the 80s, crazy colors of costumes, futuristic houses and interiors, beautiful cars and disco style benefit the film. The picture here is incredibly juicy, it’s just nice to look at. Plus it has a very good soundtrack.
But what clearly does not benefit the film is the huge number of inaccuracies and frankly fictitious episodes. Hoffman and DeLorean were never that close, Katie Connors, with whom DeLorean flirts, is a completely fictional character, etc. Well, in general, the inventor was never such a narcissistic and arrogant person as he is shown in the film. Due to the fact that the filmmakers decided to show the designer and his car not in the best light, they were even refused to rent a DMC DeLorean for filming, so the legendary car appears only in the last frame of the film.
Another problem of the film is that despite the external similarity of the actors to the prototypes, they overact a little, and this is noticeable. However, this seems to be the director’s intention. This is allowed in comedies, but the second half of Driven is not at all like a comedy.
However, despite the above flaws, there is something very moving about the story that the writers of Driven told. The mad designer, willing to do anything for his brainchild, is somewhat reminiscent of another mad scientist, a character who, a year after the end of the DeLorean trial, would make him and his fantastic car famous. This may not be a coincidence.
PS Until the end of his life, John DeLorean dreamed of returning to the auto industry and worked on an updated version of the DMC DeLorean – DMC2. The inventor died on March 19, 2005 at the age of 80, and his tombstone depicts a DMC DeLorean with the doors open upward to resemble bird’s wings.
PPS In 2007, the DMC Texas company was created, which planned to resume the small-scale production of the DMC DeLorean, including in an electric version. Only in 2015 did the company finally resolve the issue of transferring the trademark to the widow of John DeLorean, but, alas, as of August 2019, not a single new DMC DeLorean has ever rolled off the assembly line.
Conclusion:
A very touching story of a brilliant inventor obsessed with his car.
