Driving Lessons

Seventeen-year-old Ben lives under the shadow of a vicar father, Robert, and a controlling mother, Laura. Laura forbids him a mobile phone and keeps him isolated from peers, using his driving lessons to shuttle her about for her affair with Peter. Ben pours his hurt and longing into poems for Sarah, a girl from church who does not return his feelings.

Laura's religious veneer masks a growing affair with Peter, a young curate. She continues to control Ben's life, exploiting his devotion while neglecting his emotional needs. Ben feels increasingly cut off from his own life as the family tension deepens.

Under Laura's pressure, Ben seeks summer employment to help pay for the upkeep of Mr. Fincham, the mentally ill man Laura has adopted. He hopes the job will buy him independence and a chance to escape some of the domestic strain. The opportunity also opens a doorway into Evie's world.

Dame Evie Walton, once a glamorous actress, hires Ben as her companion and driver. She immediately warms to him, offering friendship and a sense of purpose outside his troubled home. Ben begins to glimpse a future where his life is controlled by his own choices rather than Laura's demands.

When Laura refuses a camping trip with Evie, she instead orchestrates a country drive and swallows the car key to keep Ben under her thumb. They travel to a secluded spot where a camping fantasy quickly collides with real restraint and manipulation. The ride exposes Ben's growing unease about his mother's control.

The morning road trip concludes with Laura ordering Ben to drive her to the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where she has been invited to read poetry. Along the way, Bryony, one of the young organizers, enters Ben's world and sparks his awakening. He begins to realize the difference between obedience and personal responsibility.

At the festival, Ben's first sexual experience with Bryony marks a pivotal turning point. The experience awakens a sense of independence and the urge to own his choices. He returns with a nascent belief that he must shape his own life rather than be shaped by others.

Back home, Laura interrogates Ben about Evie's influence and the changes in him. Evie herself attempts to visit but is rebuffed by Laura, escalating the family clash. Ben begins to glimpse the cost of Laura's fanaticism on his own future.

In a moment of rebellion, Ben walks offstage during the pageant and bikes to Evie's house to reconnect. He and Evie reaffirm their friendship, offering him an escape route he can actually trust. The moment also reveals Laura's weakening grip as Ben asserts himself.

Evie arrives at the Pageant and, portraying God, whips the crowd into a frenzy, inviting Ben to join her in the car park. Laura pursues them, trying to weaponize faith against him, but Ben tells her to go away. The scene crystallizes Ben's break from Laura's influence.

Mr. Fincham's decline culminates in a road accident where Laura is run over and rushed to hospital. While she recovers, she experiences a near-death moment that she interprets as prophetic, claiming God demands she divorce Robert and run off with Peter, who then takes her to Cornwall to convalesce. The family fragmentation widens in the wake of the accident.

Ben confronts Sarah, dismissing the idea that their affair was God's will and telling her to 'fuck off.' He follows Evie's advice and buys a tent, moving into the backyard to test his independence. Robert also wrestles with the situation, hinting that divorce is Laura's decision but offering his support.

Robert reveals he had asked for a divorce, explaining his love for Laura and his attempts to stay faithful. Ben learns that his father has been wrestling with the same issues and that love and honesty still matter. Their conversation marks the first step toward reconciling their fractured bond.

Ben visits Evie to tell her he will move to Edinburgh to study English at university. Evie is pleased but saddened that their partnership is ending as he begins a new life. He reads her a last poem and promises to visit whenever he returns home.

The film closes with Ben walking through a park on his way home to start packing for Edinburgh. He feels finally free from Laura's domination and ready to define his own future.