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TAKEDOWN
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| Genre: |
Thriller |
| Director: |
Raul Inglis |
| Cast: |
Lou Diamond Phillips, Estella Warren, Deborah Kara Unger |
| Synopsis: |
Five years ago David’s (Lou Diamond Phillips) life came undone when his young daughter fell victim to a brutal attack. The subsequent emotional fallout cost him his marriage and his job. Handicapped by guilt and anguish David abandoned his past and alienated himself. He took a second-rate job as a security guard and plodded on – his wounds concealed but unhealed. All it would take is a scratch for them to open wide and consume him….
During a routine security inspection, David discovers a young Serbian girl stowed in the cab of a truck. Her sister and other girls have been murdered – all victims of an abhorrent human trafficking racket. She pleads for his help. This is his chance at redemption. Fighting his way through Russian Mob-run brothels and smashing apart this sexual slave trade with his fist and his gun, this time he will save the young girl that places her trust in him.
But David is taking on Goliath (Deborah Kara Unger) and he has his back against the wall and a gun at his head. Enlisting the help of a counselor at women’s shelter (Estella Warren), David embarks on a do-or-die mission to save the girl.
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Dallas International Film Festival Review: TAKEDOWN
by Rich Hancock - redcarpetcrash.com
Lou Diamond Phillips came home to Texas for the world premiere of his new film "Takedown", a featured presentation at the 2010 Dallas International Film Festival, and the University of Texas at Arlington alum got the chance to revel in the reaction of the hometown crowd.
While Phillips is the star attraction of this ambitious action tale, he is also justifiably proud of the work of his colleagues in developing a smart, fast-paced and exceptionally thought-provoking product for the screen.
Producer/writer Matt Kelly, who initially enticed Phillips to consider the project, and director/writer Raul Sanchez Inglis, who provides one of the most unexpected movie plot reveals in recent memory, tackled the difficult subject of human trafficking in the context of increasingly unbridled corporatism.
David (Lou Diamond Phillips) is a troubled, damaged soul who, in the course of performing his rather hum-drum corporate security duties, discovers a horrible crime has been committed on company property, and a soul survivor remains. He is immediately forced into making a series of choices aimed at protecting the young female witness, who speaks an Eastern European language which only allows David to learn that her name is Anja (Anja Savcic), and that someone wants her dead. David convinces Anja to run and hide, and manages to defeat Anja’s would-be assailant, showing combat skills clearly beyond those of a mere security guard. His attacker is no ordinary thug either, and severely wounds David with a gun shot in the course of the struggle.
What follows is a series of events that might be ripped from today’s headlines. David awakens to find he’s been sequestered in a corporation-sanctioned medical facility, where he is told that nothing really happened and he is encouraged to sign off on the company story by a rather creepy-but-beautiful corporate lawyer, played convincingly by Debra Kara Unger. He immediately smells a rat, and fights his way out–back to the streets to look for Anja. Aside from his considerable warrior skill set, which we are led to believe comes from a law enforcement or paramilitary background, David’s only real help comes from a rape crisis counselor, starkly portrayed by Estella Warren.
Through flashbacks, we know that David is tormented by his failures as a father, and his daughter Meg (Emma Sutton), a rape and assault victim, is lost to him. His determination to prevent a similar fate for Anja is his driving motivation – or his last chance at salvation.
"Takedown" is beautifully captured by cinematographer Michael C. Blundell, complimented by the score of Christopher Nickel, and crisply edited by Richard Martin – but the story is always the thing, and the writing team of Inglis and Kelly truly delivers a sharp, provocative and even occasionally-funny screenplay.
One of the great things about screening a film like "Takedown" at the Dallas International Film Festival is the opportunity to get a look behind the curtain in an unusual way for most moviegoers. We learned during the Q&A with the director, producer, and star that the shooting schedule, operating budget and crew personnel were brought together as much through serendipity as intent, and that the aforementioned plot twist which took me completely by surprised also came as a shock to the star of the film.
Lou Diamond Phillips takes a great deal of pride in this film, and with good reason. They filmed while Lou was on hiatus from
"Stargate: Universe," and even managed to secure several key people from that show for "Takedown." The quality shows on screen. I highly recommend this film. |
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