Driven (2018)

Elevator Pitch: Jim Hoffman (not his real name) a small plane pilot and long time drug smuggler, is caught by the FBI and becomes an informer, set up in a luxury housing estate in San Diego. He renews his relationship with a drug lord, Morgan Hetrick, but more importantly forms a friendship with John DeLorian a neighbour who is starting up his fabled car company. Time passes and Jim fails to deliver any worthwhile info to the FBI, but introduces Morgan and his young girlfriend, Katy, to DeLorian. As the DeLorian Car Company hits hard times Jim is asked to arrange emergency finance using his underworld contacts. It will not end well.

Content: No sex, although Katy down to her underpants once when trying on one of DeLorian’s wife’s dresses. Almost continouous swearing, could be a contender for most uses of the F word. Jim is seen in court which provides a narrative about the events. He is caught by the FBI and takes up residence in a luxury house. He is starstruck by John DeLorian and he and his wife attend many DeLorian parties, mostly held for possible investors. The drug lord is threatening so Jim is reluctant to wear the wire required of him by the FBI. There are a number of secret meetings with the FBI agent which are fun.

A View: This outing was moderately well liked by the critics, Mark Kermode saying he “quite enjoyed it”. I did have a bit of a problem with the DeLorian character, whose wig was particularly obvious, and it seemed to me that the actor was a bit uncomfortable with it for most of the film. If the photos in the closing credits are anything to go by, he did not look much like DeLorian anyway.  But at the end of the day I am with Kermode, I quite enjoyed it as well, so worth the cost of a download.

Additional Info: The DeLorian used in the film (the photo here is not actually in the movie) was lent by the Puerto Rico DeLorian Club, which they regretted when they saw the finished product.