Take 2008

Nathan Lee, New York Times: If there is anything the cinema needed less than another angst-ridden, cross-cutting tragedy about crime, fate, memory and redemption, it's the kind shot in an ugly monochromatic palette like Take. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: Take is too enamored of its time-shifting gimmick and cheap suspense to ultimately have much impact. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: This melodrama about capital punishment has no shades of gray, only beige. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Dramatically, however, Take consistently works, and, with such a story, that's an amazing thing. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: It's like a full-length public service announcement. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: A woefully earnest indie about a crime and its aftermath. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Obscured by ugly, dark photography, a jumbled script, mumbled performances, and clueless direction that make it impossible to see or hear a lot of what's going on even if you cared, the result is a film of monumental incompetence. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

Joshua Land, Time Out: Read more

Ronnie Scheib, Variety: The talky redemption element, however, ultimately feels artificially tacked on. Read more

Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice: Oliver wants to defend restorative justice, but his interest in this form of victim-offender mediation registers only as an afterthought. Read more