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Driveways (2020) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Driveways (2020) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2020 · 83 min · English
Echo score 85
JustWatch #4,800 19
Directed by
Andrew Ahn
Starring
Brian Dennehy, Hong Chau, Bill Buell, Christine Ebersole, David Chen, Hannah Bos

A mother, Kathy, and her reserved son, Cody, move into a new home and find an unexpected connection with their neighbor, Del. Throughout the summer, Del's guidance helps Cody gain confidence and encourages him to embrace new experiences. Meanwhile, Kathy grapples with her sister's complicated history, ultimately finding solace and a renewed sense of belonging as she strengthens her relationship with her son.

Drama Cast, crew & box office
On this page (9)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (6)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 Movie threads
  7. 7 Movies like Driveways
  8. 8 Categories
  9. 9 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Driveways (2020)

Where can you watch Driveways? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Fawesome and Hoopla: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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6 main characters · contains spoilers

Driveways Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Driveways (2020), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Del (Brian Dennehy)

    Del is an elderly widower who watches the neighborhood from his upstairs window with a mix of gruffness and quiet compassion. He forms an unlikely kinship with Cody, offering patient guidance and a thread of old-world wisdom. His memory, shaped by war and years living next to the restless streets, grounds the film's meditation on aging and belonging.

    • 🧓 Elderly widower
    • 👀 Watchful
    • reserved
    • 🕊️ Kind mentor

  • Kathy (Hong Chau)

    Kathy is a practical mother navigating debt after her sister's death and trying to stabilize a fragile situation. She balances protectiveness of Cody with the need to confront the realities of owning a hoarder house. Her choices reveal resilience, determination, and a willingness to seek help from the community when needed.

    • 👩 Parent
    • 💪 Determined
    • 🧭 Boundary-aware

  • Cody (Lucas Jaye)

    Cody is a perceptive, resilient boy who forms a bond with Del and observes the adult world with a mix of curiosity and caution. He navigates the small dramas of the street—wrestling with neighbors, burying a dead cat, and planning a birthday party—while processing his mother's longing for a stable home.

    • 👦 Child
    • 🪄 Curious
    • 🤝 Open-hearted

  • Linda (Christine Ebersole)

    Linda is the neighbor grandmother who offers help and shares stories about April. Her presence grounds the social fabric of the block, bridging generations and revealing a compassionate, practical side beneath politeness. Her memories and warmth help ease Kathy and Cody into their evolving life in the house.

    • 👵 Grandmother
    • 🏡 Neighborly
    • 💬 Talkative

  • Brandon (Jack Caleb)

    Brandon is one of the neighborhood kids who imitates professional wrestlers with Reese. He embodies the high-energy, playful side of childhood that coexists with the quiet, tense atmosphere surrounding the house. His interactions illustrate the social dynamics of the block and its informal mentorship between kids.

    • 👦 Boy
    • 🎭 Wrestler-in-training
    • 🧭 Social child

  • Reese (James DiGiacomo)

    Reese is Brandon's friend who joins in the wrestling play and represents the other side of the kid dynamic in the neighborhood. He contributes to the sense of a lived-in community where children are learning to navigate boundaries, competition, and camaraderie. His presence completes the micro-community at the heart of the story.

    • 👦 Boy
    • 🥊 Wrestler-in-training
    • 🧭 Community kid

Last updated: February 10, 2026 at 08:27

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Setting

Where and When Does Driveways Take Place?

The setting of Driveways (2020): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Late summer, contemporary

The events unfold over a few days in late summer, with warm evenings giving way to quiet, intimate daytime rituals. The film avoids a specific year, grounding itself in a timeless, small-town cadence. The time frame emphasizes cycles of life, aging, memories, and the process of making a house a home.

Location

Upstate New York neighborhood, a house, VFW lodge, motel

Set in a quiet upstate New York suburb, the story centers on a run-down neighboring house and the people around it. The neighborhood functions as a compact world where strangers become allies, watchers, and occasional rivals. Key locations include the deceased sister's house, the VFW lodge where locals gather, and the motel that becomes temporary housing as the characters navigate debt and grief.

  • 🏡 Upstate New York neighborhood
  • 🌃 Late summer nights
  • 🧭 Suburban house dynamics
  • 🏠 Residential setting

Last updated: February 10, 2026 at 08:27

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3 major themes

Driveways Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Driveways (2020) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Grief

    Grief threads through the actions of Kathy as she copes with her sister April's death and financial obligations. The film treats mourning as a quiet, everyday burden that shapes decisions, such as cleaning out the hoarder house. Del's own memories of loss from war and aging echo the process of letting go while preserving memory. The residents’ interactions become small acts of support that help characters move forward.

  • Friendship

    A central theme is the unexpected bond between Del and Cody, forged in shared loneliness and mutual curiosity. Cody sees Del as a grandfather figure, and Del offers a patient, practical companionship that transcends age. The citywide micro-community—Linda, Brandon, Reese, and others—demonstrates how neighborly bonds can yield solace during hardship. The friendship evolves through moments like shared meals, a birthday plan at the roller rink, and visits to the VFW lodge.

  • Belonging

    The house becomes a symbol of belonging as Kathy contemplates moving in rather than selling, turning a place of debt into a potential home. The narrative explores how people create rootedness in small acts—a yard sale, a quiet porch conversation, a birthday plan at the roller rink. Despite the looming move and Del's departure, the film preserves a sense of continuity through memories and rituals that bind the characters together.

Last updated: February 10, 2026 at 08:27

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Character & theme questions

Driveways Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Driveways (2020): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is Driveways set?

Driveways is set in a quiet upstate New York suburb. The story centers on a run-down neighboring house within a compact neighborhood where strangers become allies. Key locations include the deceased sister's house, the VFW lodge where locals gather, and a motel that serves as temporary housing for the characters.

  • upstate new york
  • suburban setting
  • neighborhood
  • vfw lodge
Q2

When does Driveways take place?

The film takes place over a few days in late summer, with warm evenings and quiet daytime rituals. It is set in contemporary times but avoids specifying an exact year, grounding itself in a timeless, small-town cadence that emphasizes cycles of life and aging.

  • late summer
  • contemporary
  • time period
  • summer
Q3

What are the main themes in Driveways?

The three central themes are grief, friendship, and belonging. The film explores grief through Kathy's mourning of her sister April, friendship through the unlikely bond between elderly Del and young Cody, and belonging through the process of turning a house laden with debt into a true home.

  • grief
  • friendship
  • belonging
  • themes
Q4

How does Driveways handle grief?

Driveways treats grief as a quiet, everyday burden that shapes characters' decisions. Kathy copes with her sister April's death and the financial obligations left behind, including cleaning out a hoarder house. Del's own memories of loss from war and aging echo the broader theme of letting go while preserving memory.

  • grief
  • mourning
  • loss
  • death
  • hoarder house
Q5

What makes Del and Cody's friendship significant?

Del and Cody form an unexpected bond forged in shared loneliness and mutual curiosity. Cody sees Del as a grandfather figure, while Del offers patient, practical companionship that transcends age. Their friendship evolves through shared meals, birthday planning at the roller rink, and visits to the VFW lodge.

  • del
  • cody
  • friendship
  • elderly
  • child bond
Q6

Who is Del in Driveways?

Del is an elderly widower played by Brian Dennehy who watches the neighborhood from his upstairs window with a mix of gruffness and quiet compassion. He offers Cody patient guidance and old-world wisdom, grounding the film's meditation on aging, loss, and belonging.

  • del
  • brian dennehy
  • widower
  • elderly neighbor
Q7

Who is Kathy in Driveways?

Kathy is the mother played by Hong Chau who moves into her late sister's house with her son Cody. She navigates debt and grief while trying to stabilize a fragile situation. Her choices reveal resilience and a willingness to seek help from the community as she decides whether to stay or sell the house.

  • kathy
  • hong chau
  • mother
  • sister death
  • debt
Q8

Who is Cody in Driveways?

Cody is a perceptive, reserved boy who forms a deep bond with neighbor Del. He observes the adult world with curiosity and caution, navigating the small dramas of the street while processing his mother's longing for a stable home and dealing with themes like burying a dead cat and planning birthday parties.

  • cody
  • lucas jaye
  • child
  • boy
  • neighborhood kid
Q9

How does Driveways explore belonging?

The house becomes a symbol of belonging as Kathy considers moving in rather than selling, turning a place of debt into a potential home. The film shows how people create rootedness through small acts, a yard sale, porch conversations, and birthday rituals. Despite impermanence, the narrative preserves continuity through memories and rituals that bind characters together.

  • belonging
  • home
  • house
  • roots
  • community
Q10

What is the neighborhood like in Driveways?

The upstate New York neighborhood functions as a compact world where strangers become allies, watchers, and occasional rivals. It includes a deceased sister's house at the center of the story, the VFW lodge serving as a community gathering spot, and nearby motels that become temporary housing. The setting emphasizes small-town dynamics and neighborly connections.

  • neighborhood
  • community
  • neighbors
  • vfw
  • suburb

Movie threads

More Movies Like Driveways, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Driveways tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about unlikely bonds like in Driveways

Stories where meaningful connections blossom unexpectedly between different souls. Find more movies like Driveways that explore tender, unexpected friendships. If you enjoyed the gentle connection between Cody and Del, these films feature similar stories of characters from different worlds who find solace and growth in each other.

  • quiet
  • gentle
  • hopeful
  • reflective
  • melancholic
  • heartfelt
  • Tone: bittersweet, gentle, hopeful
  • Pacing: slow, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern follows characters, often facing loneliness or a transitional phase, who form a slow-building, non-romantic bond with someone very different from themselves. The plot revolves around shared experiences and quiet conversations rather than high drama, leading to mutual growth and a bittersweet but hopeful acknowledgment of the connection's impact.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here because they share a focus on the emotional resonance of platonic, intergenerational, or otherwise improbable friendships. They share a gentle tone, slow pacing, and a belief in the power of small, human connections to effect significant personal change.

Driveways movie poster

Driveways

2020
All The Days Before Tomorrow movie poster

All The Days Before Tomorrow

2007
Our Souls at Night movie poster

Our Souls at Night

2017
Late Autumn movie poster

Late Autumn

1960
The Trip to Bountiful movie poster

The Trip to Bountiful

1986
84 Charing Cross Road movie poster

84 Charing Cross Road

1987
Turn Left Turn Right movie poster

Turn Left Turn Right

2016
Early Summer movie poster

Early Summer

1951

Gentle dramas about healing like Driveways

Quiet dramas about processing grief and finding solace in everyday life. Discover movies similar to Driveways that explore grief and moving on with a gentle touch. If you liked how the film handled themes of loss and belonging without heavy melodrama, these selections offer a comparable reflective and hopeful viewing experience.

  • melancholic
  • reflective
  • nostalgic
  • hopeful
  • quiet
  • soothing
  • Tone: melancholic, bittersweet, reflective
  • Pacing: slow, contemplative
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows characters grappling with a recent loss or a complicated past. The story unfolds slowly, often in a mundane or domestic setting, as they process their emotions through small, daily interactions and new relationships. The resolution is seldom a full cure, but a quiet acceptance and a step toward healing, often symbolized by a new beginning.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their delicate handling of heavy themes. They prioritize emotional authenticity over plot twists, using a bittersweet tone and low intensity to create a space for reflection. The shared experience is one of catharsis rather than despair.

Tender Mercies movie poster

Tender Mercies

1983
A Perfect Ending movie poster

A Perfect Ending

2012
Driveways movie poster

Driveways

2020
Ladies in Lavender. movie poster

Ladies in Lavender.

2005
The Hedgehog movie poster

The Hedgehog

2009
Garden State movie poster

Garden State

2004
The Midwife movie poster

The Midwife

2017
The Trip to Bountiful movie poster

The Trip to Bountiful

1986

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Categories

Movie Lists Featuring Driveways

Driveways appears in these hand-built movie categories. Each one groups movies by a specific mood, theme or story type, with their plot summaries and endings explained.

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Every angle

Driveways (2020) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

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