Patricia Clarkson On ‘Learning To Drive’ Working With Ben Kingsley [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Patricia Clarkson read Katha Pollitt‘s personal essay “Learning to Drive” in the New Yorker back in 2002, and it resonated with her, leading her to set about getting a movie based on it made.

Patricia Clarkson On ‘Learning To Drive’

In the Learning to Drive feature, Katha, a feminist writer, becomes Wendy, a high-powered book critic. Like Katha, Wendy appears to have it all – the dream career, a handsome partner, a stylish Manhattan apartment – until infidelity sends them on a mission for independence, which starts with getting a driver’s license.

“What I loved about the character of Wendy is it was a woman who, not – she wasn’t finding herself – she has a great life. […] My generation of women we, we can have it all, and this is a woman who does,” Clarkson told uInterview in an exclusive interview.”I found it fascinating that a woman who’s lived this incredible, powerful life, and an intellectual life, is suddenly thrust… Her husband walks out on her and she’s suddenly thrust into an emotional life. And on top of that, she learns a new skill.”

‘Learning To Drive’ Cast On Relationships

Learning to Drive centers around Wendy’s relationship with her driving instructor, a Sikh man named Darwan, played by Sir Ben Kingsley. It’s within this relationship, in the midst of personal crisis, that Wendy finds an antidote to the despair.

“I just loved how those worlds kind of tapped each other, gently, and I found it subtle and funny, very funny, and real, and adult,” Wendy said about the relationship between Wendy and Darwan.

Patricia Clarkson & Ben Kingsley Talk ‘Learning To Drive’

As for the man behind the character, Kingley, Clarkson was equally effusive. “He didn’t disappoint,” she said. “We had such a beautiful journey, we took from this film and we were very sad when it was over.”

“I remember the very first day I sat in the make-up trailer with Sir Ben, and I looked over at him and he had become Darwan. He had his beautiful turban on, and his beard, and I looked over in the mirror and I burst into tears,” Clarkson added. “I thought, ‘We’re here! I’m actually here, we’re here, we’re on the set. This film that I’ve wanted to make for so long is happening.'”

Learning to Drive is currently in theaters.