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The Path to "Take"
By Charles Oliver, writer/director of Take
I have always been fascinated by the way we look at strangers, how effortlessly we construct an individual using only the few details we see. I also find it compelling that a single moment of chance can suddenly make that stranger the most effectual force in a person's life.
For years, I have watched the late-night news and seen a familiar story: A mother (usually on her way into the courthouse) is stopped by an interviewer. She is there to witness the trial of a man who has killed her son or daughter. Almost invariably, she stares down the barrel of the camera lens saying, with immovable determination, "I will not rest until that monster gets the chair." Of course there is a long road that follows; years pass before the criminal is actually sentenced to death. But it is those years of hatred and revenge that I find perplexing. How long can an individual sustain that kind of hatred? Are there two deaths now to the same crime?
In Take, I wanted to explore how far the heart could go with this kind of resentment before it would fold in on itself. I wanted to examine the idea of forgiveness as a mechanism of survival - having nothing to do with whether someone deserves it and everything to do with our own need to forgive. |
| The greatest challenge of this film was creating four distinct worlds: one for each character's past and present. I wanted to have a different visual language for each of them, yet make them feel connected on a visceral level. Much of pre-production was spent creating these worlds with my production designer and cinematographer. Once we found our bearings, we did some tests and then locked in our four-part approach, which then became our visual bible on set. On an independent film budget, this was a lot to ask. We couldn't just accept the elements that came with a particular location. Rather, we had to constantly think on our feet and then watch as our remarkably agile art department made instant transformations in order to bring a set in line with a particular world. |
I wrote the rough draft of the script in a month and then put it away for two weeks to let it settle in my mind. During that time, I discovered an article on restorative justice, a new rehabilitative prison program that prepares inmates to meet their victims and/or their victims' families. A few days later, a friend of mine who knew about my project sent me a videotape of an "Oprah" segment, also on restorative justice. It was almost eerie to read and hear quotes that were strangely close to the dialogue in my script. I began researching the program further, and soon I was hooked. The idea was compelling: two strangers with every reason to hate each other voluntarily coming together years later. I knew immediately that a scene like this would be the climax of the film.
Photos: (top) Jeremy Renner, (middle) Charles Oliver, (bottom) Minnie Driver; courtesy of the filmmaker. Take screens on April 30 at 2 p.m. at the 2008 Newport Beach Film Festival (click for ticket information). Festival runs April 24-May 1.
Behind the scenes video.
NPR interview.
Exclusive MPM interview with Charles Oliver at 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. |
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