Chicago Cab is a 1997 American drama film directed by Mary Cybulski and John Tintori and written by Will Kern, based on his play Hellcab. Paul Dillon stars as an unnamed Chicago taxi driver who encounters more than 30 passengers during a day on the job. The film premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1997 and received a limited theatrical release in 1998.
Plot
An unnamed Chicago taxi driver (Paul Dillon) begins a long shift shortly before Christmas. Over the course of the day and night, more than 30 fares pass through his cab as he travels around the city, including the North Side, downtown Chicago, the South Side and O'Hare International Airport.
His passengers include a churchgoing family whose daughter tries to convert him, a pregnant woman whom he rushes to the hospital, a couple who pretend to have sex in the back seat, and several young people searching for drugs on the South Side.
He witnesses a drug deal, becomes involved in arguments with passengers and occasionally intervenes in their problems, including warning a woman about the way her date has spoken about her. Near the end of his shift, the driver picks up a woman who has been raped and takes her home. His final passenger listens as he recounts the experience, after a day spent largely observing the lives and troubles of strangers.
Cast The cast includes:
Production Chicago Cab was adapted from Will Kern's stage play Hellcab, which drew on his experiences driving a taxi in Chicago. Kern said that he drove a cab for seven months and that about 90% of the play was based on real incidents. The play had been performed in Chicago since 1992, with Paul Dillon originating the role of the cab driver.
Kern wrote the screenplay for the film, with Dillon reprising his stage role and also serving as a producer alongside Suzanne De Walt. The film was shot on location in Chicago and was retitled Chicago Cab because another film had already used the title Hellcab.
Release
Chicago Cab screened at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 1997, where Mary Cybulski received a nomination for the Gold Hugo Award in the New Directors Competition. Its limited theatrical release began in Seattle on September 11, 1998, followed by openings in New York on September 18 and Chicago on September 25. The film opened in one theater and later expanded to a maximum of two, grossing $23,946 during its domestic theatrical run. Chicago Cab was later released on DVD on April 7, 2009.
Reception On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 56% of 9 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four. Responding to criticism that its passengers were implausibly eventful, he argued that "Drama is always made of the emotional high points" and praised Paul Dillon's restrained performance as the largely passive driver.
Emanuel Levy also reviewed the film positively, praising the way its passengers reflected the humorous, frightening and dreary aspects of a Chicago cab driver's working day. Bob Heisler of the Los Angeles Times was less favorable, describing the film as episodic and uneven; although he found interest in its depiction of strangers confiding in a taxi driver, he felt that it lacked irony and ultimately went nowhere.
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