‘A fare to remember’
The Fare is a 2019 American science fiction romance film with touches of horror about a cab driver picking up a lady passenger in the desert.
Directed by D.C. Hamilton (The Midnight Man) from a screenplay by co-producer Brinna Kelly. The latter stars alongside Gino Anthony Pesi (The Vampire Diaries series) and Jason Stuart.
Plot:
When a charming woman named Penny climbs into his taxi, Harris finds himself entranced. That is, right up until she disappears from the back seat without a trace.
As he desperately tries to make sense of what happened, he resets his meter and is instantly brought back to the moment she first climbed into his cab. He and Penny find themselves trapped in an endlessly looping ride that changes their lives forever…
Reviews:
“The Fare handles itself as a romantic thriller, with some slight brushes of horror movie elements and an atmosphere and cinematography full of suspense. With one of the best scripts I have seen in independent cinema during this year, it takes you deep into its interesting and captivating story.” 10th Circle
“The Fare is a beautifully shot romantic time travel drama that plays out as what the audience may think is a typical sci-fi time travel drama, but it has enough surprises to make the audience realise that they are getting a lot more than they expected.” BRWC
“The Fare is a mysterious and captivating romance that goes further than the arbitrary “boy meets girl” trope. It is a thrilling sci-fi tale that is crafted to take the reader through a dizzying whirlwind of emotions as you frantically try to work out what is happening at the same time as the protagonist.” Cryptic Rock
” …The Fare won me over by its conclusion, primarily through persuasive performances built around a suspenseful set up. Dialogue flows organically, allowing Pesi and Kelly to relax into pleasing personalities. They casually build complicated characters without their chemistry feeling forced. Their romance becomes infectious…” Culture Crypt
“There are times in the film when its ambitions might outreach its range of motion, but the comprehensive output produced by the filmmakers is impressive. Viewers in the market for a mentally stimulating cinematic experience with Hitchcockian flair, the imagination of a Spielberg feature, and the drama of a Nolan film, are sure to be in for a treat.” Elements of Madness
“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.” J.B. Spins
“The number of details interwoven throughout the course of the film, whether through the costume designs or the cleverly written dialogue, is enough to warrant a good few re-watches of the film in order to just take everything in. You will feel yourself fall in love with the two characters…” Nightmarish Conjurings
“The performances – in what is mostly a two-hander – are nuanced and charming, aided by a witty and resonant screenplay by Kelly herself […] it finds an ingenious way of both resolving and literalising the mystery of these lovers’ eternally transitory relationship: instead of merely borrowing from Groundhog Day as so many other films have done, it renews this kind of cyclical story type by taking it back much further to its ancient source.” Projected Figures
“The Fare was an immediately engaging idea, and one that despite a minimalist setting had me glued to the screen […] While there wasn’t much horror here the central idea worked, and the love story was one I enjoyed due to having elements of loss and sorrow to it.” The Rotting Zombie
” …thanks to a very clever script, but also to the two leads, whose performances are on point and who have that kind of chemistry between them to make the situation believable, and of course to a directorial effort that pulls all the stops to not make the single location dull as hell without drawing too much attention to itself.” Search My Trash
“There is a touch of Edge of Tomorrow and Groundhog Day about The Fare, coupled with some classic rural episodes of The Twilight Zone fused with The Time Traveller’s Wife, but it does hold its own with a fair amount of charm, particularly based on the evident chemistry of the two leads.” Starburst
Release:
Available on digital platforms and Blu-ray on November 19th 2019 via Epic Pictures’ Dread label.
Cast and characters:
Gino Anthony Pesi … Harris
Brinna Kelly … Penny
Jason Stuart … The Dispatcher
Jon Jacobs … Frail Man
Matt Fontana … Dewey
J.K. Baker … Homeless Man
Jeff Blum … Naked Man
Stephen Ji … Angry Man
Sarah Moore … Woman
Paul Samaniego … Chonger
Joshua D.W. Smith … Spring Breaker
Rob Starns … Man
Filming locations:
Los Angeles, California
Technical details:
1 hour 22 minutes
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
