Alfred Uhry won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his play about cranky Miss Daisy, a Southern Jewish widow loosely based on his own grandmother, and Hoke, her black chauffeur. Set between 1948 and 1973, the work is meant to illustrate the great social changes of the period through the evolving friendship of these two opposites. The play is earnest but tidy. If either of the roles is acted too broadly or uncertainly, you can hear the contrivances creak.

Good news: In this funny and touching film…