Chicago Cab

I remember the night I watched Chicago Cab for the first time. It was a few years ago and it was around 3:00 A.M. As soon as I saw the cab park to pick up the coke head, I was hooked. This movie, in my opinion, can be seen any time of the year but the true effect is present on or around the Christmas season. In some odd way, you can relate this film to the holidays. Of course, the movie is set on the winter solstice which is near Christmas but it's more of a relation to the depression that people face near Christmas. In any event, this movie is a must see. Paul Dillon deserves a standing ovation from every individual that sees this movie. You can't really "connect" with the driver but, then again, you can. If you ever see Chicago Cab/Hell Cab on your cable guide screen, do not pass it by. Watch it.

I have seen my share of independents. I love the standards like Clerks and of course Raising Arizona. I've also seen some of the fringes of independent films, though I am by no means an expert. However, I can say that this one ranks in the upper tiers of independent film stratification. It was highly enjoyable and often comedic while at the same time thought-provoking and meaningful on a real life level. Another enjoyable aspect of the movie is spotting the famous faces who turn up, like Laurie Metcalf, Michael Ironside, John Cusak, Gillian Anderson, and most impressively Julianne Moore. It is Moore's part that sparks the greatest conversation in the film examining the limits of human ability. I recommend this one to anyone in the mood for something a little off the beaten path but not so far you can't find your way back.

I just finished watching "Chicago Cab" on cable and was moved to post some comments. Though Paul Dillon gets third bill, this is his show.

Better known to most of the world for his hilarious role in the first "Austin Powers" flick, Dillon gets an opportunity to flex his muscles as a fully rounded character actor. Over the course of his very long day (from sun-up to sundown and then some), he picks up a plenitude of fares ranging from sanctimonious (his first fare of the day is a rather smug Born Again couple and their little daughter on their way to church at the very ungodly hour of six in the morning) to the frightening (too many to mention). All are played with conviction by a large number of talented actors ranging from the virtually unknown to very familiar faces in cameos.

One of these well-known faces is Gillian Anderson. It's fun to see her as a foul-mouthed Southside girl; a nice break from her prim, proper Agent Scully persona. Also worthy of mention is Reggie Hayes as Dillon's final fare of the day. The dialogue between the two men is touching and provides a necessary respite from the overall dire (yet entertaining) tone of the film.

I hope Will Kern graces the screen with another effort. This was adapted from his play of the same name and I'd like to see more from him.

As a final note, the video title, "Hellcab," is perhaps misleading. This movie is in no way related to the early CD-ROM game "Hellcab" created by comic artist Pepe Moreno.

I saw this movie around Christmas 2002, it was about 02.00 am, I thought I'd make one more walk around the channels. Then I saw a guy in a cab on BBC, and the colors of the movie seemed okay -You know, when a movie is really dumb, or bad, it often has intense and bright colors-. I wasn't doing anything at the moment, so I left it on. Then I became more and more interested in it, and decided to turn of the computer and focus only on the movie. I think this is a movie that truly represents the spirit of Christmas, although I am still not sure what the hell that may be, I'm sure this is it. Paul Dillon, whom I did not know beforehand plays his character brilliantly. He's a quiet guy, who somehow got into the job of cabdriver. He has to work on Christmas-eve and he gets all these strange people in his cab who tell him about what happened to them lately, and that's it! Fantastic. From there you see him trying to say the right things, and that maybe is the most beautiful thing about this movie. The movie is really easy going, you can just sit, do nothing, just watch and let it pass by. Therefore, when watched alone, late at night, at Christmas-time, this is the perfect movie for the moment, and deserves 10 out of 10 points.

Unfortunately I only caught this movie part of the way through on TV, but this movie piqued my interest immediately. Having driven taxi's myself for 13 months straight back in 2000/01 I always like to see what it's like for cab drivers elsewhere, how the driver responds to situations etc..

The Christmas eve I spent behind the wheel I got probably less than one passenger an hour, but I noticed that the atmosphere was definitely different from the typical weekday/weekend. So to busy Chicago, where the bald-headed driver is ferrying around a wide variety of people. He handles most things in a relaxed and fairly unstressed manner, and shows concern for others, but unfortunately is in that place in life which would see him earning his way by being behind the wheel of a taxi.

It looks like taxi driving is basically the same thing no matter where you are, mainly ferrying around city folk, the carless people and those who are intoxicated to varying degrees. I've felt the fear that the taxi driver felt when he picked up John Cusack's character, when the person won't tell you where they want to stop off. Are they going to do a runner? is there a dead end around the next corner where five guys with clubs lie in wait? Probably 99 times out of 100 it's a false alarm, but the 100th time...

At the end of the film I sympathised with the cabbie, where he's worn out, he's got the echoes of dozens of conversations in his head, and he's had some good times and some bad times. And back at it again the next day...