This
must be a Twilight Zone kind of
story, because the characters call for taxis rather than Ubers. This particular
yellow cab will not get very far. The cabbie’s customer keeps disappearing
after he takes her down a lonesome stretch for twenty minutes or so. Then
everything resets. Time sure seems to be looping in D.C. Hamilton’s The Fare, which releases today on VOD.
Harris
(don’t call him “Harry”) and Penny (like the coin) keep having the same
chit-chat over and over—until he starts to remember. It turns out she always
did. Finally, their conversation can advance into deeper territory.
Unfortunately, they are unable to find a way to break the cycle, but they are
clearly developing serious feelings for each other. Regardless, she still
disappears and as soon as Harris resets his meter, they are back to where they
started.
Obviously,
we can’t say too much about a film like this, because it would be spoilery.
However, we can almost guarantee you won’t see the twist coming, even though
hints are deviously dropped in the early going. Hamilton and
screenwriter-co-lead Brinna Kelly engage in some truly masterful misdirection.
On the surface, this is a shrewdly simple-to-stage two-person science fiction
film that requires virtually no special effects, but the real story is much
more complex.
The Fare also happens to be
the best genre romance since maybe Benson & Moorhead’s Spring. Kelly and Gino Anthony Pesi are absolutely terrific
together. Their chemistry is truly the key. We really care about them as a
couple, which is an even greater trick to pull off in this case, because the
film must be so cagey about their back-stories. Yet, their mutual affection
deepens organically and never feels forced.
Kelly
and Pesi are on-screen together nearly the entire film, but they admirably
carry the show two-handed. Nevertheless, the unseen Jason Stuart deserves
credit for adding some caustic humor as the voice of the Louie De Palma-esque
dispatcher.
There
is no doubt The Fare is one of the
biggest surprises of the year (in a positive way). It is strange that it didn’t
play all the fantastical film festivals, but it is here now, for public
consumption. This is a film that can rub shoulders with Somewhere in Time and About Time. Very highly recommended, The
Fare is now available on VOD platforms.
