Take (2007)

45% of critics liked it
(29 reviews)
41% of users liked it
(14,660 ratings)

An unwitting murderer and a woman close to his victims struggle to come to terms with where the fates have taken their lives in this independent drama. Ana (Minnie Driver) was a wife and mother caring for an educationally challenged son and a moody-but-loving husband when fate led her to cross paths… More An unwitting murderer and a woman close to his victims struggle to come to terms with where the fates have taken their lives in this independent drama. Ana (Minnie Driver) was a wife and mother caring for an educationally challenged son and a moody-but-loving husband when fate led her to cross paths with Saul (Jeremy Renner). Saul was a gambling addict deep in debt to loan sharks and desperately in need of enough money to keep collectors from killing or injuring him; a foolish decision on his part led to the death of Ana's husband and son. Years later, Saul is on death row, awaiting execution for his crimes, and Ana is unable to find closure, still grieving bitterly for the loss of her family. When Ana and Saul finally meet face to face not long before he's to be put to death, they both find it difficult to express their thoughts about loss, forgiveness, and redemption. The first feature film from writer and director Charles Oliver, Take was screened as part of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Charles Oliver
Written By: Charles Oliver
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jul 25, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Feb 24, 2009
Studio: Liberation Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Ronnie Scheib, Variety
The talky redemption element, however, ultimately feels artificially tacked on.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Stylistically as well as thematically complex.
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
Take is too enamored of its time-shifting gimmick and cheap suspense to ultimately have much impact.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
Obscured by ugly, dark photography, a jumbled script, mumbled performances, and clueless direction that make it impossible to see or hear a lot of what's going on even if you cared, the result is a film of monumental incompetence.
John Anderson, Newsday
Dramatically, however, Take consistently works, and, with such a story, that's an amazing thing.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
A woefully earnest indie about a crime and its aftermath.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
This sullen dramatic thriller is introspective to the point of being navel-gazing. And its up-to-interpretation form of 'conclusion' is fairly pretentious.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
It's close but no cigar for first time writer/director Charles Oliver as he bashes his unfortunate audience with a preachy and one-dimensional exposition of revenge wearing restoration clothing.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
A dreadfully misguided movie whose story of redemption is utterly irredeemable.
Genelle Pugmire, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Clean but adult-themed movie that takes an intense look at extreme forgiveness and restorative justice.
Cole Abaius, Film School Rejects
This is a slow burn of a film. You'll have to commit to seeing it, but the rewards for doing so are great.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
This is an uneven directorial debut -- but not an unaccomplished one. Oliver is a name to look out for -- it would be great to see what would happen if he worked with someone else's script.
Leo Goldsmith, indieWIRE
Oliver's film manages to grapple with some knotty questions about justice, even if it is not nearly as bold or ironic as Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine"
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Charles Oliver's directing debut, Take, unfolds in sun-baked Southwestern locations, but it's a dreary affair all the same.
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly
This melodrama about capital punishment has no shades of gray, only beige.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
Resides in the same lives-intersect-through-tragedy wheelhouse as 21 Grams and Monster's Ball, without those films' romantic underpinnings or powerhouse performances.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
Take suffers from story overload, which is distracting.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A frantic mother and a desperate criminal cross paths with devastating results in first-time writer and director Charles Oliver's emotionally charged drama.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

In the present day, Saul(Jeremy Renner) is being prepared to be executed by lethal injection. In the past, he is a petty crook and gambler who works at a storage facility while taking care of his invalid father. He is also badly in need of $2,000. Ana(Minnier Driver), a maid, could… More
In the present day, Saul(Jeremy Renner) is being prepared to be executed by lethal injection. In the past, he is a petty crook and gambler who works at a storage facility while taking care of his invalid father. He is also badly in need of $2,000. Ana(Minnier Driver), a maid, could also use a little extra cash. She has just been told that her son Jesse(Bobby Coleman) is being transferred to special education. To avoid that fate, she wants to send him to private school but receives little support from her husband Marty(David Denman, of "Drop Dead Diva"), himself a teacher. "Take" is a ponderous movie that lumbers towards its inescapable conclusion where two people have their lives changed in a fateful meeting. After which, there is a curious endnote praising restorative justice which long story short says that confrontation is good for the soul between convict and victim, forgetting for a second how many people are in jail for victimless crimes. And in this case, it only works one way as Saul is definitely beyond the point of no return. In fact, Jeremy Renner's sad sack performance seems to work towards the conclusion that Saul has no business being on death row(which personally I don't think anybody should be) which is a debate the movie ducks away from.
Burger S

Good indie flik. Moves very slowly.