Neil Rosen reviews "The Take."
John Leguzamo has had a diverse career that's taken him from acclaimed one-man shows on Broadway to the sliver screen, where he's played a wide variety of characters. His latest movie is called “The Take.”
Felix, played by Leguzamo, is an armored car driver who almost dies when a thug sets him up for a robbery. A devoted family man, who lives in LA, he miraculously survives the bullet which enters his brain, but after a long recovery, his personality has been radically affected by the shooting. He now has violent mood swings and his once-supportive wife, played by Rosie Perez, is running out of patience.
John Leguzamo and Rosie Perez raise the level of this suspense drama.
Making matters worse, Felix is now being looked at by L.A. detectives as a possible suspect. Despite his claims of innocence, there's new evidence pointing in his direction that he could have been involved in the crime. Despite his mental deficiencies and memory problems – both a direct result of the shooting – Felix becomes obsessed with finding the man who shot him and changed his life, for the worse, forever.
The film radically shifts tone at several points. It goes from a drama about recovery and support from family members to an action flick, with a long chase scene by the end. The dramatic sections are more effective than the chase through Los Angeles. But even that scene, although not really original and also somewhat predictable, still manages to maintain a certain level of suspense.
Where the movie shines is in its performances. Leguzamo, gives a multilayered characterization of a man afflicted with a head injury and does not resort to any stock clichés. Perez is also quite good as his wife. The direction could have been a bit tighter and the camera work more steady. The plot does hold your interest, but it's these two actors who raise the level of the material.