Institute History
Description
Using the precarious world of New York City cabbies as a backdrop, 3 A.M. tells the story of three very different characters who are brought together in a microcosmic amalgam of cultures and who share universal fears and desires. Hershey (Danny Glover), an ex-basketball player, struggles to make ends meet following a failed career; Rasha (Sergej Trifunovic), a Bosnian refugee, is haunted by the war crisis in his homeland; and Salgado (Michelle Rodriguez), a tough young Latino cab driver, is tormented by violent memories from her childhood. All work for the low-rent cab company owned by Box (Sarita Choudhury), an Indian woman struggling to keep her business afloat.
Each has a personal struggle to overcome. Hershey needs fares to help build a financial foundation for him and his love interest George (Pam Grier), a hardworking waitress who's growing weary of waiting for him to commit. Rasha must support the family he left behind in Bosnia, and Salgado spends sleepless nights behind the cab wheel rather than deal with the memories of her painful past. Their problems are complicated further by a serial killer that is systematically preying on cabbies.
3 A.M. boasts an impressive ensemble cast that all lend their immense talents to a dramatic and powerful commentary on the working-class travails of various ethnicities. Director Lee Davis is especially attentive to creating the tone and atmosphere of a world whose surface is part of everyone's lives but whose core is rarely examined.