Gerald Wright's Movie Coverage
TAKE MOVIE REVIEW
Directed by: Charles Oliver
Running time: 99 minutes
Release date: July 18, 2008
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Liberation Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Revenge has long been a tenet of Hollywood movies. Writer/director Charles Oliver didn't feel the need to regurgitate a simple tale of loss and revenge. In this film he finds more room to explore the interesting idea of how much resentment and hatred can people consume? The film enters in the realm of forgiveness as a means of survival. Having nothing to do with whether or not someone deserves that forgiveness, but having everything to do with whether we as individuals need to forgive in order to move on in life.
In this thriller, Ana Nichols played by Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated Minnie Driver is a wife and mother who is barely keeping her head above water. She works as a house cleaner and her husband Marty (David Denman) works as a 7th grade teacher. Their son Jesse (Bobby Coleman) suffers from a learning disability causing him to be dropped from the regular school program and suggested to a special education school. On the other end of this story is Saul (Jeremy Renner) an addictive gambler who must steal from his job to pay gambling debts owned to bookies. As fate would have it, he gets caught stealing and is fired from his job. Now with his back against the wall with excessive gambling debts and the threat of thugs collecting the money owned, he resorts to a robbery. Saul, Ana and young Jesse as unlikely strangers come in contact when a convenience store robbery goes bad and Jesse becomes the fatal victim. Needless to say, Saul is apprehended and sentenced to the death penalty.
In a series of flashback scenes from backstory plots to present day, the story merges into a complete film. Though the story is predicable in nature and the preconceptions of the film are thematic throughout, it is offset by the single random encounter. Minnie Driver's brilliant performance carries this film into the brave and compelling nature of the story. She captures the essence of a horrifying and tragic act being committed and at the same time she finds the connection of redemption. Jeremy Renner as Saul was excellent in this complex part who somehow gains sympathy for an unsympathetic character. His performance was very intense as a man awaiting a death sentence and execution looking for forgiveness. While on the other hand, Ana goes to witness the execution, wanting and needing closure to a chapter in her life that haunts her.
Take, delivers a solid plot; however, some flashbacks scenes during the middle of the film drag on. The movie is strong enough to overlook these minor setbacks. This is a powerful Minnie Driver vehicle.
FILM RATING (B)
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