To See or Not to See: Take Me

A kidnapping goes very wrong in the absurd and entertaining comedy Take Me.

Ray Moody (Pat Healy, also directing the film) has a very unique and bizarre small business: Kidnap Solutions, LLC. He faux kidnaps people to help them with personal issues; he bills his company as a kind of therapy. One of his clients, Stuart (Jim O’Heir), we see in the beginning, is overweight and can’t resist fast food chains. So, Ray kidnaps him one evening and. he literally keeps the man tied up in his basement for eight hours as intimidates the man and force feeds him burgers. Oddly enough, the man leaves Ray’s house “cured” of his desire to eat fast food burgers.

While his method does seem to work for his small client base, he’s struggling to actually make enough money to have Kidnap Solutions be the money-making business it had been in his former life in Atlantic City with his ex-wife. One day, though, everything changes. Ray receives a call from businesswoman Anna St. Blair (Taylor Schilling) who wants to pay him $5,000 for a full weekend of being kidnapped. In other words, she has always had a fantasy about being kidnapped and wants Ray to help her make it come true.

Needing the money, Ray agrees. One requirement is the element of surprise so Ray stalks her. He learns her daily habits: when she gets to work, when she goes home, where she parks her car in the garage. When he finally enacts the kidnapping, she is utterly taken aback. As Ray goes full-on role playing with duct taping her mouth, shoving her in the trunk of her car, and depriving her of food, Anna denies requesting his services. Then, Anna is reported missing by her colleagues, and the police are called in. Was Ray set-up in kidnapping Anna? Is Anna just messing with Ray?

Take Me will keep you guessing until the end when the truth comes out. Both Pat Healy and Taylor Schilling shine in their roles. Healy’s dweeby and going nowhere Ray is easy prey. He wears a ridiculous wig. His crime boss cover story is flawed. Over the course of the film, though, we glimpse moments of a more confident, taking charge Ray. Schilling’s Anna is multi-faceted. Like Ray, viewers are constantly on edge, trying to figure out what is real and what isn’t when it comes to Anna. Schilling easily transforms from scared and meek to brash and sexual to calculating and devious. Together, they are a lot of fun to watch.

In short, Take Me is a darkly fun, twisted cat-and-mouse game that is engrossing and entertaining.

★ ★ ★ out of 4

The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, can now be seen on VOD.  
Photo Credit: Nathan M. Miller / The Orchard / Tribeca Film Festival