I almost titled this review Tacky Driver—never waste a good pun—but I decided it would be too cheeky and untrue to the material. Turns out Self Driver is a clever, original film made on a shoestring budget that deserves your attention.
A character identified only as “D” is at wit’s end. He has a new baby, lots of expenses, and relies on an Uber-ish ride-share app called VRMR to bring in money. He drives a shitty car (bad AC), works ridiculous hours, and must contend with an array of eccentric passengers. The faceless, soulless app doesn’t care. An agent just tries to get him to upgrade. Then one day, a slick passenger named Nic offers D a chance to sign on to a new app, promising fast money. D demurs at first. “A libertarian,” Nic chuckles. “I like it.” Pretty soon a party girl pukes in D’s back seat. That’s the last straw. D calls Nic.
The new app, Tonomo, has great pay-outs but strict rules. D stands to make a lot of money as long as he follows the prompts. If he doesn’t ask questions, and does everything the app tells him to, he can make a lot more money than with the app he’s been using. Nic tells D that the more “offers” he accepts, the more he makes. But if he refuses an offer, he loses money and possibly the whole gig. “Lastly, and most importantly,” D. stresses, “you have fun.”
Then things go really wonky. D is tasked to pick up all manner of shady characters clearly involved in the commission of crimes. One tosses him a wrapped gun-shaped package and mysterious pink sugar cubes as a “pick me up.” D realizes he is driving what is essentially a getaway car. The electronic prompts become more demanding and personal. “Discard the bag,” it intones. “Move to the back.” And it isn’t long before Tonomo is instructing D to do the crimes himself.
Director Michael Pierro keeps it all in close. His movie embodies what he calls its “guerilla spirit:” most of the time his camera is trained on D’s increasingly concerned face or action draped in shadows. As director, writer, and editor, Mr. Pierro brings a manic energy to the proceedings. Under it all is Antonio Naranjo’s playful yet ominous score.
As D, Nathanael Chadwick maintains a steady gaze and impatiently clicking tongue as he monitors the goings-on in the backseat. We see his passengers in a funny, rapid-fire montage: they bicker, they complain, they pontificate, they try to get out of the fare. Other cast members stand out: Adam Goldhammer as Nic, Catt Filippov as Angel, Reece Preesley and Lauren Welchner as a pair of traffickers. Stone-faced Harold Tausch’s bit ends with his blood on the backseat.
Self Driver is a techno nerd’s dream of a thriller. What could be a gimmicky contrivance is, in fact, a small, ambitious film that would make a good watch on a Saturday night at home.
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Self Driver. Directed by Michael Pierro. 2024. From Cinephobia Releasing. Runtime 89 minutes.