All The Fives
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: John Hillcoat
Writer: Sammy-Jo Ellis
Producer: Jimmy Ellis
Cast: Wyatt Russell, Ben Foster, Wagner Moura
Plot: The film opens with a Metro Cab, its ID dangling from the rear-view mirror. A sports betting slip is clipped to the ID, and beneath it is a weathered headshot of a man named Mitch (Wyatt Russell), who now looks older and jaded. His Pittsburgh Steelers cap is pulled low, his tired eyes scanning the road while he tries to tune his radio for the game. He’s a man who’s seen too much, been through too many rough times. He blesses the betting slip, hoping for luck, but soon, his smile fades as the sportscaster calls an interception.
The road ahead is blocked by a tangle of cars, forcing Mitch to maneuver his cab into an alley. As he tunes out the game to avoid the sirens blaring around him, a man suddenly steps out in front of the cab from a side alley. Mitch slams on the brakes, stopping just inches from the stranger, Ned (Ben Foster). The man throws a duffel bag into the backseat, panting and desperate. He tells Mitch to take him to Mercy, and Mitch, unfazed, offers a quicker route, though with a higher fare. Ned agrees. Mitch accelerates, eyes glancing at his passenger, trying to figure him out.
Ned’s clearly in a bad state, pale and sweating, his discomfort growing. The sirens add to the tension in the air. Mitch offers him a water bottle, but Ned refuses. Mitch, irritated by the constant noise of the alarm from the taxi’s malfunctioning wiring, finally tunes out the radio commentary, only to punch the dashboard in frustration when the game turns south. His anger is masked by the drone of the alarm until he finally shuts it off.
Mitch shares a bit about his bad betting luck, telling Ned how he’s bet on the Steelers all season, putting in big money on a sure thing, but it hasn’t worked out. But when he checks the rearview mirror, Ned is no longer sitting upright. Mitch looks through the partition, only to see that Ned is slumped over, blood pooling beneath him. His coat is soaked in it, and a revolver handle pokes from an inside pocket. Mitch slams on the brakes, panic creeping in.
The cab comes to a stop by the side of the road. Mitch’s attempts to rouse Ned fail, and he peels back the man’s coat, revealing the gun and a bag full of cash. The sight of the duffel bag, stuffed with bills, gets Mitch thinking. He cautiously opens the bag and finds bundles of cash and a tracker buried among them. Before he can fully process the situation, Mitch notices the industrial area around him, devoid of any witnesses, and with a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one’s watching, he retrieves the gun and hides it, along with the balaclava that tumbles out with it. Mitch realizes this is bigger than he first thought.
As Mitch drives, he glances nervously at the rearview mirror, scanning for any signs of someone following him. His hands, slick with sweat, grip the steering wheel tighter. He notices an unfamiliar car in his mirror, but it’s too far back to be of any concern. For a brief moment, Mitch wonders if he could just disappear—drive far enough, far away from everything. But he shakes the thought off, focusing instead on the man in the backseat, still, deathly still.
Later, on a dirt track surrounded by trees, Mitch, now in deep thought, glances at the water bottle in his hands, trying to collect himself. His focus shifts when he hears a weak voice—Ned is still alive. He talks about how Mitch will have to bury him, but it must be deep, or they’ll both get caught. Mitch is horrified, not planning to bury anyone. But Ned’s tone shifts as he weakly reflects on their similarities, trying to engage Mitch. He asks for some air, and as Mitch opens the window, Ned catches him off guard, cuffing Mitch’s wrist to the door handle. Ned spits out the key into the brush. Mitch struggles, frantic, trying to free himself, but the cuff won’t budge. Meanwhile, Ned’s breathing fades, his death rattle slowly overtaking him.
In the quiet of the forest, Mitch’s struggle becomes increasingly desperate. The sound of the crickets chirping, the rustle of leaves in the breeze, contrasts with Mitch’s labored breathing. His fingers, slick with blood, fumble as he tries to work the cuff loose. A cold sweat drips down his forehead, and his body shakes from the tension, but the cuff is locked tight. He shouts out, almost as if praying for someone to come. But it’s just him and the dead man in the backseat, and the gnawing silence that seems to stretch out endlessly.
Eventually, Mitch’s desperate efforts to free himself leave him smeared with Ned’s blood. As he searches for anything useful, he discovers a wallet, inside of which is a police badge with Ned’s ID. His heart sinks as he puts the pieces together—Ned wasn’t just some random passenger. He’s someone with ties to law enforcement, or worse. The duffel bag still sits on the seat, filled with cash, but it’s the small circuit board, the tracker, that catches Mitch’s attention.
The weight of the realization hits Mitch like a freight train. The money, the badge, the tracker—all of it suddenly makes sense. He thought he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but now he’s in something much darker, much bigger. His fingers tremble as they trace over the badge, almost as if he expects it to burn him. What had he been a part of without even knowing?
Suddenly, headlights pierce the darkness, and a sedan pulls up beside Mitch’s cab. Antonio (Wagner Moura), a menacing figure, steps out of the car, his tone cold as he confronts Mitch. He explains how Ned betrayed him, hijacking a drop and killing his men. Despite Ned’s badge, Antonio makes it clear that betrayal won’t go unpunished. Antonio retrieves the duffel bag, removing the bundles of cash Mitch had already searched through. The tracker is carefully examined, and Mitch watches helplessly as Antonio walks back to his car, slipping a gun onto the cab’s dash before driving off.
In the stillness that follows, Mitch stares at the gun, his mind reeling. His heart pounds in his chest as the realization sinks in: he’s not just a bystander. He’s a player in this deadly game now. Antonio left him with a choice: take the gun and defend himself or walk away, but Mitch knows deep down he can’t walk away anymore. Not after everything that’s happened.
Mitch sits there, defeated. The weight of everything that’s happened crashes down on him. He slumps against the dead man in the backseat, his frustration boiling over. He screams in anger, pounding the partition until exhaustion takes over. His eyes fall to a bottle cap in his lap, the word "WINNER" printed beneath it. It’s the final cruel joke in his miserable life.
Just as Mitch’s hand hovers over the gun, a thought crosses his mind—could he make a run for it? Escape this world before it’s too late? But the weight of the duffel bag, the truth about Ned, and the realization that he’s too far in, stop him. It’s too late. He’s already made his choice.
The cab, now abandoned by the side of the track, is illuminated by flashing lights, the sound of the alarm ringing through the night. Mitch’s final cries are drowned out by the relentless noise, trapped in a life that has spiraled beyond his control. The camera slowly pulls back, the distant sound of a train whistle in the background, and the alarm’s incessant shrill fades into nothingness.
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