Hellcab  (1998)

Theatrical Release Information:
Hellcab

This episodic adaptation of Will Kern's seriocomic play follows a Chicago cabbie (Paul Dillon) as he picks up various passengers on the city's South Side on Christmas Eve. Most are observed and let off in brief vignettes: religious nuts, a belligerent Indian man, a defensive lawyer, a druggie on a crack run, violently arguing couples, and so forth. The best bits involve an obnoxious businessman (John C. Reilly), a rape victim (Julianne Moore), and a scary weirdo (John Cusack) who directs the cabbie into a dark alley in a scene fraught with menace, only to pay and shake his hand. Finally, near the end of his rope, Dillon picks up a seemingly cheerful black architect (Reggie Hayes) who turns out to have just lost his mother. The architect lends a sympathetic ear as the cabbie pours out his sense of helplessness and frustration at the things he sees, and gives him some good advice. When the architect leaves, the cabbie hears the voices of his passengers and weeps. Then he readjusts his mirror and goes back to work. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide