Driven

There’s something inherently dishonest about films that are “based on a true story.” Phony. Not so with films that are “inspired by real events,” however. Inspired. That’s what you need to make a good movie, so you might as well admit right up front that you’re full of shit. That’s what “Driven” (2019) does. It’s a story of a poorly built automobile, a hastily arranged coke deal, and two men who are incredibly skilled at being full of shit. Lee Pace is John DeLorean, Jason Sudeikis is an FBI informant and the rest is fabricated for maximum entertainment value. Successfully.

Shadowlands

C.S. Lewis was a craftsman of language. The Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger film that chronicles Lewis’ ill-fated, late-life love affair, “Shadowlands” (1993), embodies craftsmanship worthy of the author. The immersion into 1950s English academe, with its old marble, polished wood, tweedy coats and smoking pipes, is total. Perhaps its only fault is that it’s so polished it might come off as bloodless. Also, it’s “based on a true story,” so Lewis fans will have to accept the time compression that occurs for the sake of dramatization, but unlike some films, you don’t feel as though you’re being lied to.