A documentary-like film focusing on one man’s goal to continue delivering take out so that he can stay safe and send money home to his new family in China, this small budget indie feels like a peek into a real person’s life.
There are movies that, I will admit, I start watching wanting to love them. I enjoy a good indie film and feel like they often go the distance in terms of personal stories that a big-budget film juts can’t accomplish. Or at least not on the regular.
Take Out is the story of Ming, a Chinese immigrant who is in the United States illegally and has fallen months behind on his debt to the smugglers who brought him here. Also responsible for sending money home to his wife and their small child that he has never met, he spends one day trying to earn the money that he owes by doing delivery jobs at the busy Chinese restaurant where he works.
Shot on a handcam that makes everything feel more intimate, this independent film feels like a documentary. You follow Ming through his stress-filled day, delivering Chinese takeout to the New York customers, complete with their own circumstances and attitudes.
Being advised in common US courtesy by his friend, Ming approaches most of his deliveries with a stoic and silent demeanor. He cannot deal with the rude people, so for the most part, he stuffs it all inside and doesn’t.
The language barrier serves as a clear societal separation between one life and another, though, regardless of the state of most of the deliveries. When you first meet Ming, he is in a home with multiple other people, all of whom speak Mandarin. They can’t easily find him because there are so many residents sleeping in different beds. By comparison, the people he is delivering to already have a leg up in several ways.
The first 3/4 of the film begins to feel a little long and you realize that this is what Ming feels as well. His days are monotonous and heavy, with distracted people who are often browbeating him, or with the occasional “thank you.”
Over the course of the story, you learn about Ming’s coworkers, most of whom he doesn’t know well. Things are hectic and loud and everyone is just trying to maintain. Some of the workers are farther down the line than Ming in his settlement process, but they’ve all been there. They know what he’s going through even if they don’t know exactly what he is going through. This is the life they’ve lived.
At a certain point, you wonder if this story is going anywhere, but it does, and it hits a climax that touches you in the same way as The Florida Project. It is small, as is this movie, but very impactful, and you will feel it more than you expected.
Take Out is a quiet film full of closeups and motion shots with the energy of anxiety, irritation, and monotony at exactly the same time. It takes you on a journey of one man who has never had a good life handed to him, and this day is no different.
Runtime: 89 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: Mandarin with English subtitles and some English
Should You Watch It? Yes, it’s interesting and intimate
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: On Max, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
There are movies that, I will admit, I start watching wanting to love them. I enjoy a good indie film and feel like they often go the distance in terms of personal stories that a big-budget film juts can’t accomplish. Or at least not on the regular.
