I'll Take You There (1999)

Simply A Masterpiece

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Bill (Reg Rogers), a real estate salesman in New York City, is unexpectedly jilted by his beautiful, artistic wife. She runs off with a gentleman who purchased a nice house from Bill, in upstate New York. Totally in despair, Bill is doing badly at work and at home. His sister (Adrienne Shelley) decides to jolt her brother out of his funk by arranging for him to meet one of her old college friends, Bernice (Ally Sheedy). Bernice, however, is a bit of an odd duck and Bill insults her on their first date, causing her much pain. Yet, Bernice decides to get even, by kidnapping Bill and taking him on a car trip to visit her relatives. Will Bill be able to break free of Bernice's clutches? Will he want to? This is a very original film, with characters and a script that take the viewer into the realm of the unusual but satisfying world of offbeat movies. Sheedy is quite wonderful as the decidedly different woman and Rogers just fine as the heartbroken husband. The rest of the cast, including Shelley herself, who wrote and directed the film, are more than adequate. Given the probable budget constraints, the movie nevertheless looks great, with nice sets, costumes and amenities. If you have seen Shelley's Waitress and are looking backward to her other films, you will find this one an interesting first effort. Although it is not as successful or as universal as Waitress, no one could ever deem this flick as dull. Therefore, anyone who loves a departure from run of the mill movies will find this one easy to embrace.

There are so many comments on this film, yet I found them to be misleading. This a corner-cutting, over-used scenario where a normal human being becomes a partner in crime to someone of the opposite sex for no apparent reason. Boy meets girl. Girl holds boy up at gunpoint for something ridiculous. Boy is intrigued. You know the drill: The antagonist turns out to be a wild, free spirit instead of a sociopath... Toss in a few words of wisdom from Alice Drummond and you have a recipe for Love. Sheedy's 'is she crazy or does she just need a hug?' role from The Breakfast Club simply reeks as a lead character. And all that is left is a truly ghastly turkey of a movie.

I too have gone thru very painful personal loss (Twice) and this movie portrays the gut wrenching reality of that experience very well, Life out of balance, nothing makes sense, well meaning relatives, etc...It was nice to see Ally again. She is one of my all time favorite movie actors.I laughed and cried as the story unfolded. Great story and cast. Well done!

The influence of Hal Hartley in Adrienne Shelly's "I'll Take You There" is not overt, but clearly has ties to his work (Shelly has acted in two of Hartley's films). Not only does her film exhibit a very tight narrative, but the hyper-stylized and extreme characters strangely render human emotion in a very real light. Though this film is not ironic on the whole (thank God), the small and subtle ironies that pepper the piece allude to the bitter truths in love and loss. With beautiful cinematography and a soundtrack straight from the seventies, "I'll See You There" is a great indie-film that doesn't stoop to postmodern irony when dealing with the woes of love and the reality of human emotion.The film begins with Bill's life falling to pieces. Not only has he sold his best friend Ray a beautiful country home, but his wife Rose has left him in order to join Ray in the retreat. All washed up, Bill wallows in his own gloom and doom until his sister Lucy (played by the director Adrienne Shelly) brings him all kinds of surprises: a self-help book and a "date" for her traumatized brother.The unwilling Bill tries to refuse, but the sudden appearance of Bernice at his door leaves him no choice. No doubt Bernice's initially superficial demeanor and ridiculous hairstyle detract from his ability to "rebound" with her. However, her pseudo-hippie qualities annoy him so much that he lashes at her on their first date. And Bernice is so traumatized by his derogatory remarks that she attaches herself to him, forcing herself upon him. To what end, we are not aware... except for maybe the fact that she is psycho. (And who better to play the psycho than Ally Sheedy?)Aware that Bill desperately wants to see Rose, Bernice offers her car, but on the condition that he take her somewhere first. On the way, she proceeds to hold Bill prisoner with his own gun (a Pinkerton Detective, no less). An imbroglio of angst, resentment, redemption, passion and violence ensue as Bill and Bernice find themselves on their way to the country home of Ray and Rose... of course, with a few stops along the way.