Chicago Cab

1997 Directed by Mary Cybulski, John Tintori

Do you dare pay the fare?

A day in the life of a Chicago cab driver is examined as he picks up fares from the good and bad parts of the city and emotionally connects to many of his passengers.

Paul Dillon Tim Gamble Olivia Trevino Moira Sinise Rana Khan Gillian Anderson Michael Ironside Shanesia Davis Laura Kellogg Sandberg Ora Jones Michael Shannon Shulie Cowen Andrew Rothenberg Tracy Letts Carol Hall Tim Reinhard Hubert Taczanowski Vince Green Laura Whyte Darryl Theirse Matt Roth Laurie Metcalf John C. Reilly Tara Chocol Ron Dean Don H. Julien Marc Nelson Holly Wantuch Sunni-Ali Powell Show All…

Alternative Titles

Hellcab, Hell Cab

drama comedy

96 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by nomenclature ★★★★½ 1

Checks out as both a Christmas movie and also pristine 90's kitsch, what with a drab urban landscape, music by Helmet's Page Hamilton and Superette, and appearances by John Cusack, Gillian Anderson and Julianne Moore (the Cusack cameo is especially cool and creepy, entirely at odds with his persona). Very suggestive of Danny Boyle and Jim Jarmusch, but I like this better than the latter's other downbeat taxi driver talkie, Night on Earth.
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★½ 3

Will Kern wrote the Chicago-based play Hellcab in the early part of the 1990s and then adapted it for the screen in Chicago Cab, the movie stars the wonderful Paul Dillon known simply as "The Cab Driver."
Before starting the movie I sort of wish I knew it was a Christmas-setting because I would have saved it for December, but that's okay, because I believe this is something I will watch again when the season comes.
A wide-variety of fares come in and out of the cabbie's day, from loathsome creeps to the distraught, and the cab driver breaks down periodically in between, whether it be freaking out to angsty 90s music or yelling: "Why does everything have to be so fucked up!?!?!"
The cast of characters was insane, from John C. Reilly to a very young-looking Michael Shannon. I couldn't help but think of a few other cab-movies I love, most specifically Night on Earth.
Review by Mumciur ★★★

the lengths i'd go to see 5 minutes of julianne moore
(it was surprisingly ok though)
Review by Gabriel Jewett ★★★★

This was a nice surprise, I wasn't familiar with Chicago Cab or Hellcab if you prefer whatsoever. But I'm glad I did because it's a top notch little 90's indie.
It's a anthology of sorts, a series of vignettes loosely connected by the cab driver in question. essentially a day in the life character study, which I'm usually hit or miss on. Some of them I've absolutely loved, and some I was left thinking "what was the point?" but I guess sometimes not having a point is the point.
Some are comedic but most of them have this mundane feeling, a sort of melancholy "is this life?" kind of attitude. And then some just leave you feeling really REALLY depressed,…
Review by ames

honestly i just fast-forwarded through it to get to baby michael shannon's scenes
Review by vhs_vampire ★★

Hellcab aka Chicago Cab

Recent reviews

Review by JPYoung ★★★½

Beautiful film. Dillons performance really carries it. But also: who's not great in this ensemble? Probably the kind of film you still need to see at a small theatre nowadays due to netflix-attention-span at home. But when you take the time it's just a lovely ride.
Review by Gabriel Jewett ★★★★

This was a nice surprise, I wasn't familiar with Chicago Cab or Hellcab if you prefer whatsoever. But I'm glad I did because it's a top notch little 90's indie.
It's a anthology of sorts, a series of vignettes loosely connected by the cab driver in question. essentially a day in the life character study, which I'm usually hit or miss on. Some of them I've absolutely loved, and some I was left thinking "what was the point?" but I guess sometimes not having a point is the point.
Some are comedic but most of them have this mundane feeling, a sort of melancholy "is this life?" kind of attitude. And then some just leave you feeling really REALLY depressed,…
Review by GhostofBobDylan ★★★

Interesting movie, thinks it's smarter than it really is, but in that tolerable '90s indie darling' way.
I wish that it had either kept to its premise of aimless cabbie & not introduce and drop a plot halfway through, or stuck with the "you're so weird, you're so dumb" self loathing/ self consciousness concept & seen it through to a satisfying end. As it stood, the cabby learns the meaning of Christmas, and that was it.
No, really.
Maybe it would work better for me closer to the Christmas season. I don't know.
As for the rest of the film, it has its highs and lows (John Cusack being a standout in an extremely creepy scene) but nothing too egregious or noteworthy…
Review by nomenclature ★★★★½ 1

Checks out as both a Christmas movie and also pristine 90's kitsch, what with a drab urban landscape, music by Helmet's Page Hamilton and Superette, and appearances by John Cusack, Gillian Anderson and Julianne Moore (the Cusack cameo is especially cool and creepy, entirely at odds with his persona). Very suggestive of Danny Boyle and Jim Jarmusch, but I like this better than the latter's other downbeat taxi driver talkie, Night on Earth.
Review by Mumciur ★★★

the lengths i'd go to see 5 minutes of julianne moore
(it was surprisingly ok though)
Review by Mark Boszko ★★★★

Rented this on a whim, and I don't know what I was expecting, but it was an interesting journey to take.
Not sure why the name is “Chicago Cab” here. The movie is called “Hell Cab” on this DVD, and it’s based on a play called “Hellcab.” I certainly was much more likely to rent a movie called Hell Cab than I would be if it were called boring ol’ Chicago Cab.
Review by ames

honestly i just fast-forwarded through it to get to baby michael shannon's scenes
Review by Ian Zapczynski ★★★★½

A personal favorite. Criminally underrated and unknown. Fantastic acting throughout, what I think is a fairly realistic depiction of the insanity in our society, but also with the heart you can find if you look out for it.
Review by David Clarke ★★★

Somewhat uneven but still interesting film charting a shift of a poor hapless cab driver ( a wonderful performance by Paul Dillon) on Christmas Eve in Chicago. The impressive cast of passengers includes a very young Michael Shannon, John C. Reilly, Gillian Anderson, John Cusack and Julianne Moore