Artist in Person

The title is cabbie lingo for an alert that a driver is not responding and may be in trouble....The film is a long night's journey into daylight and self-discovery, covering the adventures and interactions of two middle-aging taxi drivers, Marty and Speed, who also moonlight as actors. The style is verité, nitty-gritty naturalism - ideal for capturing the after-hours ambience of San Francisco's rain-slicked streets. The camerawork is nervous, close-in, new wave - ish - perfect for recording the improvisations which make up the script for this wonderfully acted film celebrating, along with friendship, the actor's passion. Dedicated to the director of Shadows, Signal 7 is as charged as good Cassavetes in its ensemble improvisations and individual acting epiphanies....No doubt, the film's twin economies of budget (allowing only a four-night shooting schedule) and story concept (dusk-to-dawn time span) helped Nilsson to concentrate his performers' energies into a disciplined, tightly constructed narrative.