No. 75 Chicago Cab (1997) 3 of 100

 

Super early Shannon now in this odd film that boasts a galaxy of stars but no plot to speak of. This one was hard to locate and I eventually had to splurge a couple of quid to source a copy on DVD. The DVD release obviously came far after the cinema run as the box boats the turns of Gillian Anderson and Michael Ironside when both barely get a minute of screen time. For Anderson this was made before her break on ‘The X-Files’ so no doubt the copyright holder saw the release as a quick cash in.

The film is set, as you’d expect with that title, in Chicago, in the run up to Christmas. We ride for the duration of the film with an unnamed cabbie, played by Paul Dillon who is good and best known for his role as the Irish assassin in the first Austin Powers films. They may be after his Lucky Charms but they won’t find many in this largely grim offering.

The film opens on an early Thursday ,morning with a family taking the cab to church. They ask the cabbie to come along but he refuses, having given the offer a moment’s thought. Their bored daughter chucks chewing gum at him as they leave and the punters don't get much better as the day progresses.

We meet a variety of characters who all offer a bit of whimsy or interest before heading off to their own lives. It can get a bit frustrating when the story left hanging seems quite interesting, but I guess that’s the life of a cabbie.

The driver encounters all sorts from drunks to casual racists, to girlfriend abusers to horny lawyers. One gentleman looks after his lady in the back seat and another older lady offers our man a visit to her garage so to speak which is sadly rejected.

We also get John C Reilly and his girlfriend whom he trash talks once she’s dropped off. Our less than discreet cabbie returns to her office to let her know her man is a scumbag. Gillian Anderson is also having relationship issues and just wanders off after having a tantrum about having rightfully been labelled a slut.

Michael Shannon shows up as a character named ‘Crack Head’. He plays the part well with big hair and a leather jacket. He’s not very pleasant to his partner and, when he heads off for a drug deal, the cabbie takes off with the girlfriend, leaving our man stranded and with no resolution. He is loud and obnoxious and does well in what was his biggest part to date.

As the day draws to a close the cabbie picks up Julianne Moore who says quietly that she’s been raped and he then closes his shift taking a nice black architect for his dinner. The film ends as the sun begins to rise with the shift being completed.

There wasn’t a lot of character development here with the cabbie telling his last passenger that he was tired – the same report he give to his first fare. The film is based on a play called ‘Hellcab’ and I can see the point of the film being that people are largely awful and to spend a day shuttling them about is one version of hell. There was some bright spots such as a merry drunk woman with others, such as John Cusack burning up the interior of the cab, just being strange. I guess that’s what a day experiencing the general public brings.

I doubt this film will last long in the memory, but it kept me interested with the vignettes all being short enough and sprinkled with enough celebrity to keep it ticking over.

When is Shannon-On? - 19.14

Outcome? Waiting for the next cab

Film 3/5

Shannon Stars 2.5/5