Self Driver
Another long hour adding up to another day, another fare to another destination, all of them adding up but too few to balance the rising costs of petrol and rent and the fees levied by ride app VRMR which the driver known only as D relies on to bring him work, ferrying anonymous and frequently rude, demanding and ungrateful fares from one point to another around the city.
An airport pickup, a man named Nic, sees his frustration and makes a suggestion: the same job but for a different organisation, a startup named Tonomo, carrying with it a hefty signup bonus and better rates of remuneration transferred to his account at the end of his shift, Nic only making the expectations clear after D has committed, that he must obey all instructions, avoid conversation and never abandon a job no matter what, on forfeiture of all wages.
A simple premise in a single, albeit moving, location, Self Driver is surprisingly gripping and effective, the debut feature of writer and director Michael Pierro with Nathanael Chadwick as the man trying to make ends meet and keep a roof over his head, his girlfriend needing help at home with the baby as he spends nights in the city and ignoring the persistent calls of the landlord, out of options at the end of the road.
Bound by the circumstances of a society which only values those who are “economically active” and with no safety net, recently made redundant and needing cash fast, scrabbling to survive in a loser’s game, the change to Tonomo brings in fast results but D is a slave to the machine, micromanaged with increasing hostility and subjected to immediate penalties for any deviation, his destinations unknown with only immediate directions provided.
The first night a trial by fire, “Angel” (Catt Filippov) is forgiving of his oversteps, even asking for a favour to which he foolishly agrees knowing he may not be able to keep his promise, while the overbearing “Cuckoo” (Christian Aldo) and the “Dishevelled Man” (Harold Tausch) reinforce how fully he is now owned by the app even before the toxic duo of “Bro” and “Sis” (Reece Presley and Lauren Welchner) bring him full circle to where he started.
Beholden to automated processes against which he is unable to argue his case, the city becoming a towering monstrosity of Blade Runner proportions as he foolishly indulges in a hallucinogenic tip left behind by an earlier pickup, the gears are automatic and D finds himself moving from facilitator to witness to complicit, playing the game to win prizes and blanking out the human cost, Self Driver an uncomfortable ride but worth the fare even if the final get-out feels a left turn into contrivance.
Self Driver screens at Si-Fan Festival on Tuesday 28th April and will be available on digital download from Thursday 8th May
