Take Out (2004)
…………………………………………………
Take Out Movie Review
Take Out is a 2004 independent drama film directed by Sean Baker. It is his second feature film and the first one where he showed his signature filmmaking style.
………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………..
A Chinese immigrant in New York works frantically to raise enough money through delivery tips to pay off his debt to smugglers in this standard immigrant tale that is far from original at anything that it does. But it did showcase Baker’s now famous grounded style of filmmaking where he focuses on realistic dialogue and characters to create almost a cinema verite feel to his films.
The movie worked because it felt so real. The urban scenes captured perfectly the food delivery job and just how invisible these workers are to the general public, though they are obviously essential in their work. The highlight for me was the inclusion of Mandarin language that is actually more present than English, making for a really authentic viewing experience.
I also loved seeing the food being prepared and witnessing the other workers and their dynamics. Those were the best parts of the flick. The weakest ones were those that focused on those smugglers as they felt like your standard crime story with no distinguishable elements of its own.
………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………..
Take Out is very well filmed with a style that evokes the aforementioned cinema verite style of yesteryear. I also appreciated its attention to detail and how lived-in it felt throughout. But the reason why this one did not fully grab lies in its lack of strong characterization as we did not learn enough about our protagonist, leading to a rather cold film, which is unusual for Baker whose films are often so emotionally engaging. It’s also a very simple tale stretched to a feature-length format needlessly so, leading to a lot of repetition.
Take Out was the first movie where Sean Baker showcased his signature filmmaking style of storytelling grounded in realism and focusing on the regular lives of marginalized people. The movie is so well shot and it felt lived-in due to strong attention detail. It’s a solid effort, but one that was undermined by a serious lack of characterization, which led to a movie that was unusually cold for this usually much warmer director. It’s an effective, but overly simple tale that was stretched to a feature-length format needlessly so.
My Rating – 3.5
Results
