Disconcerted by being booked ten days in advance by the morose Red West for a one-way trip to Blowing Rock National Park, cabby Souleymane Sy Savane sets out to reconnect the suicidal seventy-something with life in this Capra-corn update. Shelving his own problems with pregnant wife Carmen Leyva (who disapproves of his plan to become a flight attendant), Savane slowly ingratiates himself into West’s empty existence.
Desperate for acceptance, Savane radiates genial optimism, while West reeks of self-loathing. But while they forge an uneasy bond, Bahrani avoids obvious sentiment to expose the growing insularity of modern society.