The Taking Movie Review

When you have no expectations going into a movie, especially an independent, small film, you may sometimes be pleasantly surprised. I certainly was when “The Taking”, straight out of the UK, made its International premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

Bex and Dawn work in a small café within a big, indoor market. They have bigger dreams of owning their own café, outside of this hellacious market, infested with perverted customers. Unfortunately for them, every bank they approach turns them down for a loan. While the sky seems overthrown by a sea of clouds, through the darkness pierces a ray of sun, as they meet Jeremy, a wealthy businessman who offers to loan them a hefty sum of money to kickstart their dream. That sunray seems to burn more than expected, however, as Jeremy begins to demand unreasonable payments for his loan, even after agreements have been made. The ladies are about to find out that sometimes, when offers seem too good to be true, it’s because they are.

“The Taking” is the perfect example of an indie movie that did extremely well despite the tiny budget it used to produce the film. Jonathan Slinger, interpreting the unpredictable Jeremy, does a splendid job in making us appreciate him in the beginning of the movie, despite knowing that he probably isn’t all that good of a guy as he goes on a date with Dawn while his wife and daughter are at home. He becomes a harsh, uncaring asshole once he makes his demands concerning the repaying of the debt, not being afraid to clock women in the face in the process. You’ll continue to despise him as the film rolls on, becoming harsher and more pity-less by the minute.

Victoria Smurfit and Joanne Mitchell execute their roles wonderfully as well, having a great onscreen chemistry, interpreting two different kinds of women. One is more extrovert, dresses with a little more cleavage, and is never afraid to speak her mind. The other is quite the opposite, and both are heartfelt and genuine. You don’t hear the script and its character responses: everything feels like a real conversation with true emotions.

While the movie starts off lighthearted, following the two women as they attempt to get bank loans, an unknown man is going around the town, breaking jaws and harming animals when “clients” have not repaid some sort of debts in full. These ominous scenes give a dark undertone to the comedic scenes involving Bex and Dawn.

As I mentioned above, “The Taking” is the perfect example of an independent film that did a lot with little, as much as in the acting as with the few, yet very impressive, special effects. The climatic ending of the movie demonstrates some remarkable special effects during a combat scene which will surprise you, as none of the rest of the movie hints that it could have been this gruesome.

You may have to get used to some severe British accents if you are North American, as the actors display a variety of types of accents. However, “The Taking” is definitely worth a watch and deserves 4 stars out of 5, in my book.