Netflix's 'Lady Driver': Review

Shaun Paul Piccinino's superb Lady Driver is to motorsport what Rocky was to boxing

Grace van Dien in 'Lady Driver' (CREDIT: Forrest Films/Netflix)

by Jack Linsdell

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky became a sleeper hit earning a whopping $225 million worldwide on a measly $1 million budget, not to mention scoring ten Oscar nominations and a win for Best Picture. Apart from redefining the entire sports genre with it's ground-breaking screenplay, the success of Rocky was purely based on it being the first film to tell boxing from the point-of-view of a "working class" man and underdog. Although audiences had seen their fair share of boxing movies by 1976, Rocky opened up the sport to ordinary folk by telling a realistic story about a boxer. Since then, we've had a slew of Rocky sequels, and many Oscar hits like Million Dollar Baby and The Fighter, all of which have tried to emulate the success of Stallone's 1976 cult classic. Sure, Southpaw got critical praise and superb reviews in 2015, yet audience indifference (only $94 million on a $30 million budget) suggested that in the modern day, it was merely "just another boxing movie". 

Well, unlike boxing, there have been very few movies about motorsport, to the point that I can count them on one hand. And, of those we do have (think Tony Scott's Days of Thunder, Ron Howard's Rush and James Mangold's Ford v Ferrari last year), none have told the sport from a "working class" or female perspective. And, to my knowledge, we have never had a film about dirt racing specifically either. 

Well...all that changes with Shaun Paul Piccinino's superb Lady Driver. This dirt racing drama is perhaps one of the most defining and profound sports movies ever made, to the point that it may even be the "best" one yet. It's greatest compliment is that it does to motorsport what Rocky did for boxing.

Lady Driver stars Grace van Dien as rebellious, misunderstood teenager and "motorhead" Ellie Lansing. Her solo quest to connect with her routes and learn about her dead father leads Ellie to a garage run by her struggling alcoholic uncle Tim (Sean Patrick Flannery). Having withdrawn from society since his brother's unexpected death, and having been cut off from Ellie by her controlling mother (for poignant reasons that are revealed and reversed later), the two make up for lost time and form a bond. He also introduces her to the world of dirt racing, and eventually becomes her coach and mentor as she tries competing on the professional circuit. 

The script, penned with perfection by John Ducey from a story by Ducey, Nick Gramenos and T.K. McKamy, makes Lady Driver one of the best written films I've seen for a long time. It's story structure and character work are masterful, expertly finding the emotion in it's poignant and compelling drama, whilst finding lightness and humour in moments of humanity too. It's not a comedy, but it's far from depressing either. Sure, it brought me to tears several times, but it also made me laugh and cheer out loud as all good sports films should. Lady Driver is a very human story, an inspirational, relatable and compelling drama that captures the very essence of life and a young person's struggles in the world. The fact that it tells all this through a realistic, female perspective of dirt racing makes it even more unique and special. 

Shaun Paul Piccinino directs with an incredible storytelling "eye" and sensibility. Lady Driver is competently staged, and his direction, although understated and far from "flashy", cuts to the very heart of the emotion and story in each scene. It's an engaging and moving drama, and when the action comes in the form of various dirt track races and training laps, Piccinino brings his stunt background into full effect to craft exhilarating, tense and coherent sequences. They are not hyper edited to the point where clarity is all but lost, but remain well paced and engrossing, with a "put you in the driver's seat" POV approach that immerses you into the action. The film also looks beautiful, yet also real-world courtesy of cinematographer Ruben Steinberg. Also, I can't not mention an emotive score by Jamie Christopherson which complements the drama and action brilliantly, and aptly chosen well-known music tracks that supplement specific scenes perfectly. 

The movie is mostly made on the sublime leading turns from Grace van Dien and Sean Patrick Flannery, and the exceptional chemistry the two share. Considering they are relatively unknown to general audiences, and the film itself is so under-the-radar, it's most impressive how well van Dien and Flannery make you invest into the deep bond that grows between Ellie and Tim. It's more than just a "mentor teaches student" relationship, and it's to Flannery's credit that the depth, emotion and vulnerability he brings to Tim makes him a character with whom we (and Ellie) grow deeply fond of. Grace van Dien herself finds insecurity, passion and a sense of feeling misunderstood in Ellie, which humanises her in a way that could have easily been missed. Sure, Ellie is headstrong, at times rebellious and occasionally distracted by a "good looking but bad news" young racer, but she ultimately remains likeable and charming. Her romantic subplot with a very normal (appearance wise) and genuinely down to earth car enthusiast guy is handled with care and subtlety. It's refreshing to see the girl fall for the normal guy for a change rather than the "hot asshole" dude.

All in all, Lady Driver breathes new life into the sports genre by offering a unique and fresh perspective on a sport hardly depicted on the big screen at all. Like Rocky in 1976, Lady Driver reinvents the wheel, offering a pioneering script of immense quality, grounded by two exceptional central performances, that tells a very human and real world underdog story. And, because Netlix co-produced it with Forrest Films, you can watch it for free on the streaming service right now. 

5/5 STARS