An action film about two brothers who have to reconcile in order to protect their family fortune when a staged kidnapping goes away.
The pair of brothers are next in line to inherit the Chang Imports empire, but the younger one was made CEO after their dad died. We can see how they get along by watching them interact; they don’t. They barely speak.
In an attempt at throwing his little brother Robert (Sam Song Li) a surprise birthday party, William (Roy Huang) hires some guys to fake-kidnap him. But what he doesn’t know is that these particular kidnappers have some plans of their own and will use this as an opportunity to rob his family blind.
For being an indie film, “Take the Night” is visually stunning. The cinematography is good enough that it could pass for something produced by a major studio. This look and feel of it being a crime thriller translates very well on screen. Right from the jump you’re antsy waiting for shit to hit the fan. The office scenes are unnecessarily dimly lit which only emphasizes the impending doom that we all know is coming.
It may drag a little bit at first, but it sets the right tone and eventually picks up where it needs to pick up. The action isn’t over the top or anything like that; it’s just right for a heist movie. It’s clean and simple but still carries all of the intensity necessary to keep your ass planted in front of the TV until the credits roll.
This marks Seth McTigue’s directorial debut, but he doesn’t just direct he also plays Chad. The leader of William’s team of kidnappers. From his first scene, Chad seems very reluctant and uninterested in doing this job at all, but he brings along his younger brother Todd (Brennan Keel Cook), who then ropes in two friends: Shannon (Shomari Love) and Justin (Antonio Aaron). Together, they plan the fake kidnapping as just a cover to rob the family. The plan is simple: Once they have Robert, they’ll force him to unlock the safe at their parents’ house and dip with everything inside including a hard drive containing millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.
On top of being brothers in crime or whatever, Chad and Todd also have their own sibling rivalry thing going on throughout. Chad has a military background and even though he’s dealing with PTSD, he seems more locked in and aware of the risks involved in their planned heist than Todd, who thinks it’s just gonna be a walk in the park.
As you might expect, things don’t exactly go according to plan for them. There’s an investigation into the kidnapping/robbery situation but all Robert really cares about is getting his stuff back. He’s hell-bent on retrieving a letter and a watch that his father left behind specifically for him.
Both sets of brothers go through different stages over the course of the movie, but by the end, their bonds have been repaired and strengthened.
The build-up to the climax of this movie is designed to make us realize that there was a twist in it that had been hidden throughout but came into play towards the end.
At first glance, Take the Night appears like a slow burner but as an independent film, it is actually a pretty good thriller that explores sibling rivalry dynamics in an engaging way. I’d give the film 6.5/10. It really does keep you interested from start to finish. It’s aesthetically pleasing, sounds great, and has all the right vibes for an indie crime thriller. What’s lacking though is some character development.
No matter how hard you try to connect with each main character or understand their personal stories better, something just doesn’t click and you never quite get there emotionally.
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