Take Me Home

I enjoyed watching this movie at the Chicago Film Festival with a lively, responsive crowd. It's a character-driven story featuring two unique individuals, against a backdrop of our beautiful, expansive country. As the journey progresses through big cities, desolate deserts and incredible canyons, the characters grow in their own personal journeys, confronting head on the reality of their life's decisions. For Claire, it's a marriage that is falling apart and a strained relationship with a father who just had a heart attack. For Thom, it's going broke pursuing a career he loves, and lying to his family about it out of shame and embarrassment. As the characters drive across the country together, they eventually reach two destinations -- California and the personal realizations that they need to change the patterns of their lives in pursuit of something more meaningful.

Take Me Home (2011)

When a movie makes you want to get on the road and see the country, it's doing something right. In classic storytelling fashion, we begin with some quick and disastrous events by two characters who haven't met. Their lives are in various state of ruin (emotional or actual) and when they meet--well, the sparks definitely do not fly.

But the story begins in earnest. And what is a short drive around New York transforms into the main idea of the movie. And of course the two have to find a way to get along, which involves slowly coming to understand each other mostly by letting their own old habits and presumptions fade away.

The leads are actually a married couple, Sam and Amber Jaeger, and Sam is the director and writer (and producer), so yes, it's a home brew movie. But it's shot with the high end Red digital camera and it feels fully professional. And more important, the acting by these two leads, who dominate the movie completely, is terrific. You feel where both of them are coming from, and when they change it makes sense.

The details of the story sometimes dip into obvious or slightly unbelievable zones. Every now and then the dialog is a hair off kilter. And maybe there could have been a slight shift in pace to keep the flow flowing. It's not a masterpiece, surely, but they know that, too. It doesn't have those kinds of ambitions.

What "Take Me Home" aims for is a light, believable sincerity, a sweetness that we all recognize and sometimes need, and which doesn't get too too sugary. And on that level it's a really enjoyable movie. And it really does make you want to hit the road.

It's about time we got to see some real talent for movie-making. Without a doubt this was a low budget production but who the hell cares.. The quality of the acting and the story itself puts many so called Hollywood blockbusters to shame. Why wasn't this on general release? Ah OK we all know why.. Stick at it guys.. With this kind of ability I can see great things coming to a screen near us soon. Didn't realise the chemistry so apparent on the screen is for a reason until the credits. Hey. It works so don't knock it.!! Brilliant comic timing, great writing, I'm looking forward to the next one. C'mon guys in Hollywood.. Lend these guys some dosh so they can show you how it's done :o)

Having recently finished a long road trip adventure by myself, it is great to see a movie about two 'misfit' people driving across America by pure coincidence.

There are great chemistry between the two leads, who are actually married in real life, and that brings a bit of authenticity into the movie. The script is well-written and some of the scenery are breath-taking similar to what you would expect from a long road trip across a continent. I like the wickedness in some of the dialog. I also like the fact that all famous actors/actresses keep their fame within their parts and didn't attempt to steal the thunder from the leads.

Overall 8/10

P.S: Most guys would probably find this movie boring...

My husband and I saw this movie at the Savannah Film Fest, and we thought it was excellent. The characters and the problems with which they dealt seemed real, could've been us or our family members. There were no easy solutions. The writing was subtle and genuinely funny. The filming showed off the country beautifully. The minor characters were well crafted, especially Clair's mother. As the action moves from the frenetic pace of the city through the numbing boredom of major highways to the serenity of nature's wide open spaces, the characters face their inner conflicts and fears. They grow separately, but in that way that others often see us more clearly than we can see ourselves, they also each contribute to the other.

The test of a good movie is whether it invokes interesting discussion afterward. We talked about this one all the way through dinner and the ride home. Do yourself a favor and see it.