Driveways (2019) Plot Summary & Timeline

During a quiet summer night in a residential area of upstate New York, a car arrives at a darkened home. Kathy, played by Hong Chau, and her young son Cody, portrayed by Lucas Jaye, have arrived with their sleeping bags in tow, hoping to stay the night. However, they quickly discover that the residence is completely devoid of electricity, forcing the pair to seek temporary shelter at a nearby motel. Unbeknownst to them, their neighbor Del, an elderly widower played by Brian Dennehy, has been observing their arrival from the vantage point of his upstairs window.

The following morning, Kathy contacts the electric company to restore power to the house, which belonged to her older sister, April, who recently passed away. Kathy has traveled to the area specifically to pack up her sister’s belongings and prepare the property for sale. During the call, she is informed that April had left behind an unpaid electric bill totaling $900. Upon re-entering the home, Kathy and Cody are shocked to realize that April had been a hoarder, leaving the interior of the house in a state of extreme clutter.

While outside, Cody attempts to get a drink of water from a garden hose. Del, watching from his porch, instructs the boy to turn the faucet in the opposite direction; when Cody follows the instruction, he accidentally soaks his shirt. Seeing the mess, Kathy mistakenly assumes that Del has been bothering her son. She curtly informs the elderly man that she does not allow Cody to speak with strangers. Despite this cold start, Kathy later discovers that Del’s transportation to a local veterans’ event has failed to arrive. In a gesture of kindness, she agrees to drive him to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) lodge, though she spends much of the ride complaining about the expensive electric bill.

Returning to the house the next day, the duo finds that Del has gone out of his way to help by running an extension cord from his own home across the driveway to power theirs. Meanwhile, Kathy meets with Charlene, a local realtor played by Robyn Payne, to list the property. Kathy is initially hesitant to let Charlene inside, but the realtor assures her that the house does not need to be presentable for an initial walkthrough. Once inside, Charlene immediately understands why Kathy was so reluctant to show the interior.

While staying at the motel, Cody asks his mother about April. It is revealed that they were not particularly close, largely due to a twelve-year age gap. As Cody helps clean furniture in the driveway, he begins to integrate into the neighborhood, meeting other children and observing two boys, Brandon Jack Caleb and Reese James DiGiacomo, who spend their time imitating professional wrestlers. Their grandmother, Linda Christine Ebersole, greets Kathy and shares memories of April, describing her as a kind woman who simply possessed a fierce desire for privacy regarding her home.

Eventually, Kathy and Cody move out of the motel and begin living in the house. A bond begins to form between the young boy and the old man; Del assists Cody in burying a dead cat and introduces him to the social atmosphere of the VFW by taking him to bingo. One afternoon, Linda offers to babysit Cody so Kathy can run errands. However, Cody does not share the aggressive interests of Brandon and Reese. Overwhelmed by anxiety at the prospect of wrestling, Cody becomes physically ill and vomits before fleeing the house to return home. When Del sees the distressed boy, the experience triggers a memory of his own youth, recalling a time he vomited while aboard a troop ship heading toward the Korean War. This shared vulnerability leads Cody to seek out the quieter, more understanding companionship of Del.

As Kathy successfully cleans the house to a livable standard, she organizes a yard sale. During this process, she suggests a new possibility to Cody: rather than selling the property, they could simply move into it permanently. Cody is thrilled by the idea. However, a conflicting development arises for their neighbor; Del is informed by his daughter, a judge living in Seattle, that a space has opened up in a nursing home near her.

For Cody’s birthday, he invites Del and the other neighborhood children to a party at a local roller rink. When it becomes clear that Del is the only invitee who showed up, the celebration is moved to the VFW lodge, where Cody celebrates with Del’s circle of friends. In a moment of honesty, Cody tells Del about their plan to move in. In response, Del reveals that he will soon be moving away to be closer to his daughter and her wife. Devastated by the news, Cody runs away, but Del eventually finds him and provides the comfort he needs.

On the day of Del’s departure, the two share a final, poignant conversation on the porch. Cody mentions that Kathy told him they could still take a long trip to visit Del in the future. Del jokingly suggests that Cody could hitchhike across the country to find him, which prompts Del to reflect on his own life. He recalls a similar hitchhiking journey he took with a friend after leaving the Army, ruminating on how the years seem to have vanished in an instant, yet concluding that he would not change a single thing about the life he lived.