Take Me (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Take Me is primarily set in two contrasting locations: Ray's home in the city, where he runs his unconventional business, and a remote vacation home surrounded by nature, which becomes the secluded site for the tense weekend scenario between Ray and Anna. The shift from an urban domestic space to an isolated rural one is central to the film's tone.

• setting
• location
• ray's house
• vacation home
• remote cabin

Take Me takes place in contemporary times, with modern technology, social attitudes, and references anchoring the story in the present day. The themes of consent and psychological manipulation also reflect current cultural conversations rather than a historical or futuristic setting.

• time period
• contemporary
• modern setting
• era

Ray Moody runs an unusual service-based business built around staged abductions, offering clients the experience of being kidnapped on demand. The premise exists in a moral gray area, blending entrepreneurship with criminal behavior, and it forms the foundation of the film's dark comedic premise.

• ray moody
• business
• kidnapping service
• fake abduction
• entrepreneur

Take Me explores two central themes: consent and desperation. The consent theme questions the boundaries between voluntary participation and coercion, particularly through the ambiguous dynamic between Ray and Anna. The desperation theme drives both characters' decisions, as Ray fights to keep his failing business alive while Anna manipulates the situation for her own ends.

• themes
• consent
• desperation
• manipulation
• moral ambiguity

The film treats consent as ambiguous and layered, initially framing Anna as a kidnapping victim before the climax reveals her as a willing participant. This twist challenges the audience's assumptions about agency, coercion, and who is truly in control, making consent the film's most provocative and central idea.

• consent theme
• agency
• coercion
• manipulation
• voluntary participation

Ray Moody is an ambitious but financially troubled entrepreneur who runs a niche kidnapping experience business. He blends charisma with deep insecurity, and his willingness to blur ethical and legal lines defines his arc. Ray serves as both the protagonist and a morally ambiguous figure whose desperation drives the plot.

• ray moody
• protagonist
• entrepreneur
• kidnapping business
• main character

Anna is a calculating and assertive character who initially appears as one of Ray's kidnapping clients but is later revealed to be far more in control of the situation than she lets on. Her shrewdness and willingness to turn the tables on Ray make her the catalyst for the film's exploration of manipulation and reversed power dynamics.

• anna
• client
• antagonist
• manipulation
• willing participant

Ray and Anna share a hostile, unpredictable dynamic built on shifting power rather than trust or affection. What begins as a captor-client relationship becomes a battle of wits where control flips back and forth, with both characters using manipulation to gain the upper hand.

• ray and anna
• dynamic
• power struggle
• captor
• manipulation

Take Me is a neo-screwball dark comedy, blending criminal premise, kidnapping, and violence with humor and absurd character choices. The film maintains a comic distance from its own stakes, keeping the tone mischievous rather than genuinely threatening, and is categorized as both a comedy and a crime film.

• genre
• dark comedy
• neo screwball
• crime comedy
• tone

Take Me is not designed to be genuinely scary or distressing. Despite its kidnapping premise, moments of violence, and morally dark subject matter, the film consistently undercuts tension with humor and absurd character behavior. It is closer to a mischievous thriller-comedy than a horror or deeply disturbing drama.

• scary
• disturbing
• intense
• dark comedy
• tone

The remote vacation home represents isolation and captivity, creating a sealed-off environment where Ray and Anna are forced to confront each other without outside interference. Its contrast with Ray's everyday city home underscores the shift from normalcy into a contained, high-stakes situation.

• vacation home
• isolation
• captivity
• setting symbolism
• rural location