"Self Driver" (2024)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s writer/director Michael Pierro’s 2024 Canadian thriller Self Driver.

Synopsis

Facing mounting expenses and the unrelenting pressure of modern living, a down-on-his-luck cab driver is lured on to a mysterious new app that promises fast, easy money. As his first night on the job unfolds, he is pulled ever deeper into the dark underbelly of society.

The Good

Joseph: After capturing awards on the film festival circuit, writer/director Michael Pierro’s gripping debut feature Self Driver receives a well-deserved wide release. Pierro tackles the hardships of trying to eke out a living as a gig economy worker using a genre-film approach. The thriller involves D (Nathanael Chadwick), a contract courier struggling to make ends meet for him and his pregnant partner. He receives an offer from a rider named Nic (Adam Goldhammer) who promises unheard of payouts for a single night of work using his app. The desperate D takes him up on his offer, and the old adage that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is kicks into high gear, as D — trapped by unauthorized withdrawals from his bank account if he doesn’t exactly follow the app’s rules and instructions — finds his passengers becoming increasingly dangerous as the night goes on.

Chadwick gives a superb, greatly realistic performance as a man whose financial distress puts him in a volatile, even deadly position. Although the majority of Self Driver takes place inside of D’s car, Pierro does a marvelous job of balancing claustrophobia with tension so that the proceedings never become boring because of the limited space. As passengers escalate from the mysterious to the dangerous, Pierros does a fantastic job of heightening suspense and further investing viewers in D’s plight.

Mike: In Self Driver, Chadwick is likeable as a down-on-his-luck gig worker who’s behind on his bills and is just trying to make a buck - whatever it takes to provide for his wife and newborn kid - not an easy thing to do when your performance is pretty much relegated to sitting in the driver’s seat of a car.

Pierro does an excellent job of building tension as the stakes slowly get higher for Chadwick, relying mainly on the time within his app that counts down from ten if he doesn’t make a decision quickly enough. When things turn from the routine to the much more physical, the viewer will be left wondering what decision “D” will make.

The Bad

Joseph: Here’s another excellent film with which I have no problems. For the sake of putting something in this section, I’ll say that some viewers may find a certain incident during the climax to stretch believability, but I thought it fit the film well.

Mike: Self Driver rolls along at a great clip until the finale. Without spoiling anything, I’ll simply say that things come a bit out of left field and make little sense in the context of all but the name of the film. There’s also the matter of the app that “D” uses which seems to somehow know a lot more than an app should be able to know given the circumstances.

The Verdict

Joseph: Self Driver addresses some social issues regarding the current gig economy but always remembers that it is a thriller. Thanks to Chadwick’s fine lead performance and Pierro’s super work at the helm of his debut feature, I give Self Driver a strong recommendation for genre-film aficionados.

Mike: Behind Pierro’s directing, Chadwick delivers an exceptional performance as a rideshare driver thrust into a rabbit hole that becomes increasingly more dangerous as the night goes on and despite the climax, Self Driver is a taut thriller that should keep viewers on the edge of their seats.