Driven

Directed by Michael Paradies Shoob

Writer-Director Michael Paradies Shoob's accomplished first feature reveals a pocket of Los Angeles seldom seen on film: the seedy, explosive world of L.A. cabbies. Having once been a taxi driver himself, Shoob is able to imbue his film with a rich authenticity.

The film focuses on three very different cabbies (expertly portrayed by Daniel Roebuck, Whip Hubley and Tony Todd), whom we follow on their cruising junkets around the city; as they scrounge for customers, we learn about their ambitions, desires, and secret vulnerabilities.

Some of the cabbies' passengers are pathetic, some are sexy, some are dangerous. This is a film about chance interactions, and the surprising depth of ramifications that these encounters have. Driven is a film about chance interactions, and the surprising depth of ramifications that these encounters have. Driven is a film with a broad emotional range and a hint of magical realism, yet it is a naturalist portrait of the gritty, volatile existence of Los Angeles taxi drivers. Shoob handles his actors and the camera with stunning confidence, and this is a debut of a great promise.

1996, 35mm, Color, 103 Minutes

Producer: Daniel Linck
Co-Producer: Jane Valentine
Cinematographer: Joseph Mealey
Editor: Fabienne Rawley
Screenwriter: Michael Paradies Shoob
Music: Jay Ferguson
Cast: Tony Todd, Daniel Roebuck, Whip Hubley, Chad Lowe, Lou Rawls,
Xander Berkeley, Diane Dilascio, Rawle D. Lewis