An independent sci-fi fantasy film that has been generating considerable buzz for over a year or so has been DC Hamilton’s THE FARE.
A lonesome cab driver, Harris (Gino Anthony Pesi), is assigned on an open road in the middle of nowhere in America to pick up a fare, whilst listening to inane conversations on radio shows. A storm cloud is gathering, but sure enough his fare, a lady called Penny (Brinna Kelly) awaits, longing for some warmth, which Harris’ cab can provide.
The two begin to form a brief, if essential bond, and the two of them flirt with each others’ background and existence. All of a sudden – zap! – after Harris resets his fare, Penny disappears – and Harris finds himself on the previous stretch of road, heading to pick up Penny. As time goes on, he realizes that there could be something far stranger, but universally influenced, as he repeats a series of seemingly never-ending journeys with Penny, all the while discovering something new about her – and himself….
A simple idea (shot both in black-and-white and colour) which incorporates elements of a lot of the classic time-travel fantasies we have grown to know and love over the decades, with a hint of David Lean’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER thrown into the mix, also reflects on the attitudes of male and female interaction and the concepts of destiny and fate, as well as how people develop a relationship over the course of time.
There is a consistent romantic feel about THE FARE as well, which Kelly also co-scripted and highlights both her talents in front of and behind the camera, particularly her writing skills. Both she and Pesi make an attractive, if bemused, couple affected by the strange and weird circumstances that they find themselves in.
Refreshingly, this is a sci-fi fantasy that doesn’t go big on the visual effects, merely keeping them to a modest incorporation without using them as a key plot point to emphasise the spectacle that a lot of these films seem to generate amongst the masses.
The familiarity of the concept might distance some viewers, but all films rise and fall on the strength of their cast – and Kelly and Pesi hold the film together with admirable chemistry.
