Ride is a 2018 thriller about an Uber-like driver whose normal night out in LA becomes a psychological war for survival.
You’ve probably noticed yourself the rise in rideshare-themed movies of late, and of course, it makes sense, with millions every day using these services to get to and from the places in their lives. Cars have made for some of the best moments in movies (here’s a list of some of our favorites) with several filmmakers spinning whole films around just the vehicle. With writer/director Jeremy Ungar‘s feature film debut Drive, we spend a lot of time in a car, it at the center of a bad night in the city, the movie certainly loaded with some good ideas, even if it runs out of gas well before it comes to a stop.
James (Jessie T. Usher) is an aspiring actor, doing like most, hitting auditions and struggling to make ends meet. He earns his keep by driving for Ryde, a rideshare company, picking up fares in Los Angeles. One night, he’s got Jessica (Bella Thorne) in the car, and there’s some sparks at play, the attractive young woman heading out for a night on the town. She even invites him to join her, but he’s got to run his rounds, promising to stop by later. Next in the backseat (soon to be front seat) is Bruno (Will Brill), who seems like a quick ride at first but instead has James driving about in seemingly random stops to take care of some business, telling James he’s recently lost his girlfriend and needs a place to stay. But after Bruno convinces James to go back and pick up Jessica, things slowly get dark, and Bruno isn’t what he seems.
The first act of Ride is spot on, with some genuinely honest moments between Jessica and James, the pair making the meet-cute feel legit. Obviously, the film can’t sustain that, the story hinging on the twist in Bruno, but it’s the power of the start that ends up deflating the second half as the story sort of skids into the expected, with Bruno revealing a psycho side that increasingly loses credibility the further it pushes toward the finale. It’s disappointing mostly because it just isn’t all that fresh.
Ungar’s strength is his direction though, using the confined space of the car to some good effect, traveling us along the familiar streets and sites of LA. It helps a lot in giving the small story a chance to breathe a little, and with some good work from both Usher and Thorne pumping up some energy in the first half, there’s some promise here that should prove Ungar has potential worth watching.
The problem is that the film just doesn’t have anywhere to go once the cat is out of the bag, and even at a slim 80-ish minutes, it already feels padded. Bruno is a hard sell, funneled into a stock character that doesn’t have the impact needed to make the challenges he pushes on James seem all that significant. With a smart start and some hints of something fresh, it all spins back to the basics in the end, leaving this a thriller with not much to say.