Dance Therapy With Banderas (Take The Lead (DVD))

Member Name: cazkins

Product:	Take The Lead (DVD)
Date:	25/09/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well acted & directed with a good soundtrack, making it easy & entertaining to watch

Disadvantages: None as such

I watched this when it was on television recently, and must admit that although I am usually a horror/thriller fan, there's something about dance films that I enjoy. This isn't something I would have seen at the cinema or bought on DVD, but it was worth watching on tv.

Take The Lead was released in 2006 and was directed by Liz Friedlander, a woman who has previously worked on mostly music videos and so knows her stuff. Her knowledge and experience shows in this film, giving Take The Lead a polished and well executed finish.

The storyline is actually based on a true story, though it's not something that struck me as being overly new or original. Set in New York, a handsome man named Pierre Dulaine (played by Antonio Banderas) sees a young man vandalise a car. But rather than reporting him to the police, he approaches the boy's high school and speaks with the school director, Augustine James (played by Alfre Woodward).

Dulaine proposes to teach the teens to dance at school as he explains to Augustine that ballroom/salsa can instil many good qualities in her pupils, such as patience, ambition, drive and co-operation. Obviously, the school director laughs this off, believing her unruly pupils wouldn't even give Dulaine the time of day, let alone allow him to teach them to dance.

None the less, Dulaine gets his way and embarks on the task of teaching 20 or so high school pupils his style of dance. His attempt starts of on rocky ground, with the kids dismissing him, not paying attention and turning their nose up at ballroom/salsa dance. They do, however, seem to have a passion for dance, but this is when they play they own music and dance their own way.

Throughout the film we see Dulaine forge relationships with these pupils as a group and as individuals, as he is eventually able to get them interested in his style of dance. Before long, they're getting into the swing of ballroom/salsa and enter a competition, all proud of their achievements and driven to prove themselves.

I enjoyed watching the dance scenes, though at first I was put off by the thought of watching ballroom and salsa styles enacted by unruly cocky teens turned angelic dancing pros. I was wrong because there was a good mix of dance styles as the teens combined Dulaine's teachings with their own style street dance. Teamed up with a fast-paced, motivational soundtrack, the film was quite lively and fun to watch.

As for the acting, I found the pupils to be quite believable and the mix of personalities, shapes & sizes was refreshing to see. The school director, Augustine James, though perhaps a relatively small role, was played well by Alfre Woodard. I knew I recognised her from the get go, but it took me a little while to place her as being the woman who had appeared in Desperate Housewives (amongst numerous other things).

The man who brought it all together and made it worthwhile, however, was Banderas without a doubt. The film was actually nominated for 6 awards, with Banderas taking the best actor award for his brilliant performance. He was realistic, charming and comical, as well as having an air of complexity and depth to him, making Dulaine a character easy to warm to.

It's a bit of a feel-good movie with an underlying moral. As these not-so-well off kids compete against those who have money, training and a better reputation, you want to support these dancers who're giving it their all despite them not 'fitting in' to the scene.

Overall, I found the film entertaining and easy to watch as it flowed well, was well acted and directed, and had a quality feel to it. It may have a few clichés and not strike you with being anything too original or unexpected, but it's based on a true story and I think it did it justice.

Worth a watch even if you're not sure it's you usual cuppa tea, and definitely a must-see for Banderas fans ;)

Summary: A feel-good film you can't help but want to dance along with.