Take Shelter (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Josh M

  
  Take Shelter is an indie gem, a low key, subtle yet constantly surprising film that works on every level. The young and talented Jeff Nichols shows a very original sensibility here (combining kitchen sink realism with a side of supernatural terror). The flick is anchored by the… More
  Take Shelter is an indie gem, a low key, subtle yet constantly surprising film that works on every level. The young and talented Jeff Nichols shows a very original sensibility here (combining kitchen sink realism with a side of supernatural terror). The flick is anchored by the impressive acting chops of Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain (both are everywhere all of a sudden) who are more than up to the challenge. It's the story of Curtis, a troubled, but fundamentally decent Ohio working man with a supportive wife Samantha, and lovely, hearing impaired daughter. He's on the verge of a mental collapse - he may have inherited paranoid schizophrenia from his mother (Kathy Baker). Curtis is haunted by dreams and premonitions of an apocalyptic storm. He starts to built an elaborate storm shelter on his property, behind the backs of his wife and friends, and takes out an ill advised bank loan to pay for it. Interestingly, Curtis doesn't share any of his visions (or his project) with his wife and coworkers, yet we know exactly what he's thinking at all times, and the great Shannon does it with subtext and a look. (And Nichols does it with very restrained but effective special effects, showing Curtis' imaginings). Without histrionics, Take Shelter portrays, in totally believable and non-schmaltzy way, a couple in love and the toll that mental illness takes on a relationship. We care about both of them, and the film is empathetic to each side of the equation. Would we stay with a partner who's showing a total, scary breakdown? Chastain shows how, in a very human, not quite saint like way. The story is much like a Kitchen sink, down to earth version of The Shining, without the grotesque horror or gallows humor. It's to the credit of the film that up to the end, we wonder if there is actually an apocalypse coming. The final moment when the family comes out of the storm shelter is intensely dramatic and suspenseful. Though Take Shelter requires some intense concentration, it will be rewarded. This film is well deserving of its accolades and I'm excited to see what Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols (and Jessica Chastian) do next.

• Matthew S

  
  Brilliant, revealing a metaphorical and personal case of a good man and wife struggling with his blurry and paranoid perception of reality. What happens when we no longer have something to fear - when life is good? Since bodies in our sterile part of the world no longer have parasites… More
  Brilliant, revealing a metaphorical and personal case of a good man and wife struggling with his blurry and paranoid perception of reality. What happens when we no longer have something to fear - when life is good? Since bodies in our sterile part of the world no longer have parasites to attack, they defend against harmless pollens. We Americans, with all the power and military might, are not comfortable unless we are dropping bombs on someone in the world, even if it's a figment of our imagination (see Iraqi WMDs and Hussein/Al Qaeda link). When Barack Obama became President-elect, guns and ammunition sales shot through the roof in America. Fear runs rampant alongside our imaginations, and we have a lot of leisure time. Without giving the ending shot away, I'll just say that the most notable point the movie makes about our fear is that it is contagious, passed down in some degree to everyone we share it with.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Michael Shannon, Katy Mixon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Guy Van Swearingen, Tova Stewart, Natasha Randall, Scott Knisley, Ron Kennard Director: Jeff Nichols Summary: Michael Shannon stars in this thriller… More
  Cast: Michael Shannon, Katy Mixon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Guy Van Swearingen, Tova Stewart, Natasha Randall, Scott Knisley, Ron Kennard Director: Jeff Nichols Summary: Michael Shannon stars in this thriller as a small-town family man who, determined to protect his wife and deaf daughter from impending disaster, builds an impenetrable storm shelter in the safety of his own backyard. Summary: "A dark haunting story. It ended right where I was wanting to see more. Michael Shannon is one of those acotor's that can play any role, I love watching him on screen. The movie is creepy and suspenseful. It's a slow burning story, and it's a good burn. I liked the anticipation of the ending. To finding out if he's really losing his shit or foreseeing the future. Great film."

• Jameson W

  
  One of the best films of the year...

• Jason S

  
  It's a combination of amazing acting and a creative way of tackling the subject that I haven't seen done before. I genuinely cared for these characters as we were able to dig deeper into their lives and the pain they are going through as well as have a ton of story thrown… More
  It's a combination of amazing acting and a creative way of tackling the subject that I haven't seen done before. I genuinely cared for these characters as we were able to dig deeper into their lives and the pain they are going through as well as have a ton of story thrown our way as well. Michael Shannon was amazing as a man who knows that he may be going crazy but has no power to stop it from happening. I can't wait to see more from this guy. The end of the flick was great and exactly what I wanted.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Sleep well in your beds. 'Cause if this thing comes true, there ain't gonna be any more."</i> Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.… More
  <i>"Sleep well in your beds. 'Cause if this thing comes true, there ain't gonna be any more."</i> Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Take Shelter is just an all around incredibly unique, beautiful and haunting film. Essentially it is a drama but there is so many layers to this film. It is beautifully shot, some really stunning cinematography, it tells a story that has a post apocalyptic undertone but does so without flashy special effects or a big budget. Honestly Take Shelter must be seen to be believed. In many ways it is slow paced, a character study of a family moving towards crisis but the performances are so riveting and the concept of the film so fascinating that you literally can't take your eyes off of it. Michael Shannon is absolutely brilliant. His performance is one of the best I have seen in months, at least. You watch his entire life break down and you will feel so much empathy for him as he moves towards a complete mental breakdown but you will also hope and wonder for him whether what he is experiencing is real. Jessica Chastain is also excellent as his devoted but concerned wife. Her character too goes through a lot in the course of the film and her and Shannon have really great chemistry. There is something very real about their marriage, not a timeless romance, but just very real and this circumstance threatens to tear them apart. Tova Stewart has a small but extremely important role and does very good as their deaf daughter who often seems disconnected from her peers. This is a powerful drama by sheer definition and a performance not to be missed by Shannon.

• Aditya G

  
  "Take Shelter" is a heart-rending story of Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon), who resides with his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and his little daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) who happens to be deaf. It all begins when Curtis has visions of a storm coming...in the form of… More
  "Take Shelter" is a heart-rending story of Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon), who resides with his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and his little daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) who happens to be deaf. It all begins when Curtis has visions of a storm coming...in the form of dark clouds, whirlwinds, thunderous noises, and a strange looking rain, the water from which resembles motor oil! Some of these visions are extreme and apocalyptic, laden with immense paranoia. He sees himself and his family being stalked and attacked by faceless people....and that is when he realizes that something is amiss with his head. He has these nightmares almost every night, yet withholds them from his family, for he is concerned about them; doesn't want them to feel insecure in the company of a mentally ill man of the house! More so, because apparently there has been a history of paranoid schizophrenia in the family; his mother had it too......! He just goes on with life, looks up books about mental illnesses and starts meeting a counselor at the free clinic. But are these visions actually premonitions of a deadly storm to come (he describes them as "a feeling", not "just dreams")? Or are they merely hallucinations? Regardless, Curtis takes up the task of protecting his family...by building a fully equipped storm shelter underground..... [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9GtXEulzVkg/T0z7fhMtSLI/AAAAAAAACNM/tR7gSJ9YF0g/s617/vlcsnap-2012-02-27-19h37m27s200.jpg[/img] "Take Shelter" reminded me of Andrei Tarkovsky's final masterpiece, "The Sacrifice" which also features the central character living in an isolated house with his wife, daughter and a son (who is mute!), and decides to carry out an ultimate sacrifice to save his family from the impending apocalypse by a nuclear holocaust. Only the similarities end right there and this film is in no way a rip-off. [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TG2DU6iebHQ/T0z7e6AEJUI/AAAAAAAACM8/y9Mk_lE0rkw/s572/vlcsnap-2012-02-27-19h18m58s116.jpg[/img] "Take Shelter", on the outside, may appear like yet another psychological drama about a man suffering from Schizophrenia with all the essential clichés that usually infest such films. Writer-director Jeff Nichols proves this assumption wrong, however, and takes a whole new approach in which the protagonist senses early on that he has a problem and tries his level best to seem normal, so as to not affect his family that he loves so much and ensures that they don't feel unprotected. The idea of delusions of doom clubbed with this fresh new twist work wonders for a tired premise of a schizophrenic protagonist and thus render "Take Shelter" one of the best films dealing with the subject. Nichols handles the story with finesse and takes utmost care to not let it slip into the triteness of melodrama. There is drama alright, but nothing that would seem overdone. Every little bit is realistically done; every scene is carefully thought out, every little character reaction is meticulously written, except for maybe a single scene. The film successfully strikes the right chord with the audiences and lets us be at one with the proceedings with some of the most real characters ever written. [img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_ea8iwDSHQU/T0z7f12HL9I/AAAAAAAACM0/qTQYwtQrO-U/s553/vlcsnap-2012-02-27-19h39m18s29.jpg[/img] Some of Curtis' visions are frightening and Nichols sure knows how to the scare the hell out his audiences! This film could serve to be a perfect blend of the 'psychological thriller' and 'drama' genres and has plenty of moments to please film lovers of both categories. On the technical front, the film excels in most departments, particularly cinematography, sound design and even special visual effects. Just behold those excellent scenes of the storm that could give any big budget disaster movie a run for their money. Or that chilling moment when Curtis and Hannah find themselves in the midst of some birds gone berserk in a frighteningly surreal sequence! [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DioNQO2A_30/T0z7eLWdmfI/AAAAAAAACNQ/oITatUcvXQU/s569/vlcsnap-2012-02-27-19h18m01s55.jpg[/img] The acting is marvelous all along...Jessica Chastain is brilliant as the caring wife distressed upon not knowing what exactly is going through her husband's head, yet trying to manage the family and making some modest money by selling in a local flea market. The little daughter Hannah is superb as the deaf daughter. Even though she has precious little to do, she has a presence that is endearing! Robert Longstreet and Shea Whigham make an impression in their small acting parts in the roles of Jim and Dewart respectively. Which brings us to the lead performer, Michael Shannon. Now, his performance is definitely solid. Shannon practically lives the character and makes it his own. The realization, the helplessness, the anxiety, the sadness...all pulled off masterfully. Only I didn't see anything significantly different from what I saw in "Revolutionary Road" in which he played a similar character. Only Curtis of "Take Shelter" is a little more compassionate than John Givings of "Revolutionary Road", but essentially he seemed like the extension of the same person! Now this leads Shannon into an even greater danger of being type-casted, because even if he attempts something different, we are bound to see a mentally unstable character, and that's not a good thing. One can just hope Shannon is more careful while choosing his next big role if he wants to show if he is versatile enough. [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-659WaMr5ZR8/T0z7eXWgMhI/AAAAAAAACNI/wIQWk003up8/s672/vlcsnap-2012-02-27-19h11m35s42.jpg[/img] Jeff Nichols has crafted a real fine film. This is only his second venture and he has already mastered the art. Some may complain that the film slows down at intervals, but it is the kind of screenplay that is best savored at a steady pace rather than in a hurried manner. In spite of the slow place, the film is engaging enough and never lets up, thanks to the fine acting and plenty of great moments to fill the running time of 120 minutes. This is yet another example of a great film that was sadly overlooked by the Academy. I can just hope that this review and many others reach out to film lovers all around and they take notice of "Take Shelter". Score: 9/10.

• Cynthia S

  
  Oh boy...there's an ending that I won't easily forget. Good, well written, well acted, emotionally moving film. I have always thought that this guy (Michael Shannon) had something unique about him. I think that he greatly shows his talents in this movie. Well done..

• Jonathan H

  
  Take Shelter is a good film that could have been great. A lot has been made about the film's treatment of mental illness, and while I applaud writer/director Jeff Nichols for writing a screenplay that shines a balanced, empathetic light on the subject, I really don't think… More
  Take Shelter is a good film that could have been great. A lot has been made about the film's treatment of mental illness, and while I applaud writer/director Jeff Nichols for writing a screenplay that shines a balanced, empathetic light on the subject, I really don't think this film is about that. For me, this film is an allegory about the turbulent, societal unease that bedevils contemporary American life. Early on in the film, a friend of Curtis' (Michael Shannon) remarks that he has a good life. "I think that's the best compliment you can give a man: take a look at his life and say, 'That's good.'" With an unstable economy, financial institutions in ruins, and various economic and environmental disasters looming, how quickly can that be taken away? What if everything that Curtis values suddenly vanished? We are not talking about a life of luxury and ease, but about modest comforts and reasonable expectations: a decent job with health benefits and vacation time, a loving family, a house of your own. Curtis has all of this. He works in heavy construction and comes home to the tidy home he shares with his wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), and their daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart), who is deaf. Curtis' friend's homespun truism might be that the greatest fear a man can experience is losing the good life he has. It is this anxiety, which afflicts Curtis in especially virulent form, that defines the mood of Take Shelter. The first 20 - 30 minutes is tightly directed and punctuated by some good nightmare/hallucinatory scenes. Then, for some reason, they disappear for almost the remainder of the film. The pace slows down, and the tone becomes more observational and less impressionistic, at least until the final act. That inevitably makes the middle of the film drag, no matter how good it may be in and of itself. And tone, in general, is my biggest point of contention here. Nichols and company can't seem to figure out whether they want to be a typical "he is or isn't he crazy?" psychological drama, or something more (seems to me that the film is trying to be both). The big question is: are Curtis' dreams real or premonitions? If this were Inception or an M. Night Shyamalan brainteaser, it might turn this question into a cinematic puzzle. But while Nichols employs a handful of tried-and-true (and therefore always persuasive) shock effects to blur the viewer's sense of reality, there is something at stake beyond formal cleverness, and he often abandons that. The ambiguity that is so unbearable to Curtis - the sense that he might be losing his mind and also receiving omens of impending disaster - is crucial to the film's logic, yes, but by reveling in it, it's easy to take your eye off the prize with respect to thematic concerns. Paranoia and uncertainty permeate our culture (Fox News makes hundreds of millions annually exploiting it). In my opinion, this is the core of what Take Shelter is about. This is a film that should be looked at more figuratively than literally, but by implementing a literal dream vs. reality plot, that's asking a lot from the viewer. What you're left with is (dare I say) a schizophrenic film that hits a lot of notes, but not all of them.

• Christopher H

  
  A shaggy dog story told at a very pretentiously slow pace. The biggest problem with the film is that it is nothing but constant build-up to an ending that makes the whole film pointless. The film tries to deliver tension through the hallucinatory dream sequences experienced by… More
  A shaggy dog story told at a very pretentiously slow pace. The biggest problem with the film is that it is nothing but constant build-up to an ending that makes the whole film pointless. The film tries to deliver tension through the hallucinatory dream sequences experienced by Curtis, the film's main character. Some of the dream sequences do have a surreal intrigue to them, but they never end up being terrifying because the film always makes it obvious when Curtis is dreaming. If the film did not give signals to when Curtis was dreaming, then their could have been more suspense because the audience is not sure whether what is happing on screen is reality or Curtis's nightmares. The film's repetitive use of dream sequences gets tedious halfway through. The film also has a snail-like pacing that makes it's two hour runtime feel much longer than it is. The film also has one of the worst endings to film I have ever seen. For two hours the film leaves things up to interpretation as to whether Curtis is insane or seeing genuine visions of the apocalypse, which is thrown away in the last five minutes of the film. The ending destroys any ambiguity the film was going for and made everything that has happened up to that point completely pointless. Aside from some good cinematography, the performances are the only things preventing this film from being completely boring. Michael Shannon, who plays Curtis, gives a performance that is very intense and sometimes riveting. He looks scary when he is furious. Jessica Chastain, who plays Curtis' wife, also gives a fairly good and believable performance. The acting may have been good, but that does not forgive the film from essentially being a glorified shaggy dog story with art-house sensibilities.

• Kase V

  
  Plenty of aspects of 'Take Shelter' make the film powerful, engaging, and relentless. The obvious one is the acting, with a brilliant performance from Michael Shannon and a noteworthy one from Jessica Chastain as well. She is a blossoming actress who has made more than a few… More
  Plenty of aspects of 'Take Shelter' make the film powerful, engaging, and relentless. The obvious one is the acting, with a brilliant performance from Michael Shannon and a noteworthy one from Jessica Chastain as well. She is a blossoming actress who has made more than a few appearances in solid films this year ('The Tree of Life', 'The Help', 'The Debt', etc.). Aside from the great acting, the cinematography and visuals are handled very well. The script is one that focuses more on tone and mood to create a sense of building dread instead of a large amount of dialogue, and it works to perfection. 'Take Shelter' is a film that continually surprises, and clearly makes the two hour run-time well worth it. The tension that builds until the unprecedented climax is both exciting and surreal. In a number of opinions, a film that should have been entered in the Oscar race, 'Take Shelter' is powerful and tense film-making.

• Tim S

  
  I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I think Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain give weight to what could have been an over the top experience (see The Happening). A slow burn, but I thought it was very well shot.

• Everett J

  
  "Take Shelter" is a psychological drama/suspense thriller that will bore yet captivate you. Curtis(Michael Shannon) lives in a small Ohio town with his wife and deaf daughter on a farm. Their daughter Hanna needs special education for her deafness which makes money extra… More
  "Take Shelter" is a psychological drama/suspense thriller that will bore yet captivate you. Curtis(Michael Shannon) lives in a small Ohio town with his wife and deaf daughter on a farm. Their daughter Hanna needs special education for her deafness which makes money extra tight. One night Curtis begins having nightmares of an apocalyptic storm coming. Not knowing if he is going crazy or having visions he takes out loans to build a storm shelter and risks losing everything for his families safety. Shannon is amazing, and gives his best performance. But the big issue is the pacing is very, very slow. However, it is very interesting and if you can make it to the end, you should. All supporting performances are good, the effects are well done, and the movie will keep you guessing. Is Curtis crazy? Or is there really a storm coming? Worth a watch, but don't be surprised if you don't like it. Then again, don't be surprised if you really dig it.

• Mark W

  
  Michael Shannon has surprisingly been around the acting game since the early 90's. He even made a brief appearance in the Bill Murray comedy "Groundhog Day" in 1993 but it wasn't until his scene-stealing Oscar nominated turn in the Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet… More
  Michael Shannon has surprisingly been around the acting game since the early 90's. He even made a brief appearance in the Bill Murray comedy "Groundhog Day" in 1993 but it wasn't until his scene-stealing Oscar nominated turn in the Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet film "Revolutionary Road" in 2008, that people took notice. Now, he's getting regular work and on the evidence of his performance here, you can see why he's in demand. Curtis LaForche (Shannon) is a blue-collar worker who lives with his wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and their young daughter (Tova Stewart) in the suburbs of Ohio. A series of strange shifts in the weather in the LaForche's home town seem to signify impending disaster. Curtis quickly starts to kit out his storm shelter and stockpiling food but his paranoia soon frightens his family and alienates him from the town. Be prepared for a film that's in no rush to tell it's story. It demands patience and a level of commitment but if invested in, it pays dividends. Despite it's glacial pace, this film had me captivated throughout. Credit must go to writer/director Jeff Nichols for his restraint and the trust he shows his audience. He confidently handles the material, in only his second film (his first was "Shotgun Stories" in 2007 - also with Michael Shannon). Dave Wingo also deserves mention for his haunting music score that adds to the sense of foreboding. Ultimately though, it's Michael Shannon's solid central performance that's the real highlight here. His state of mind is always kept elusive. Is there a storm coming? Or is Curtis suffering from paranoid schizophrenia? Either way, something always feels just around the corner. Whether you believe him to be right or not, doesn't matter, it still has you gripped and it's testament to Shannon's skills that he has you completely sympathetic, yet fearful. The moment he finally cracks in front of his family and friends is powerhouse stuff. The ubiquitous Jessica Chastain is no slouch either. She lends some fine support as his patient and bewildered wife, adding to the convincing family drama while the film maintains it's uneasy feeling of dread. A provocative and nuanced film that leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling throughout. It manages to be both hopeful and frightening with a strong, memorable performance blowing in from Shannon.

• Dan S

  
  A powerful, controlled chaotic near-masterpiece concerning a well-respected family man (Michael Shannon) who begins to experience hallucinations and visions that "a storm" is coming, and because of this he feels empowered to build a storm shelter in his backyard to prepare… More
  A powerful, controlled chaotic near-masterpiece concerning a well-respected family man (Michael Shannon) who begins to experience hallucinations and visions that "a storm" is coming, and because of this he feels empowered to build a storm shelter in his backyard to prepare for the impending apocalyptic disaster. Without firm direction and a phenomenal lead performance, this movie would probably be decent but forgettable indie-fare. Instead it narrowly misses masterpiece territory, and proves to be a film for our time and our paranoid thoughts taking form on a more damaging, disturbing large-scale form. Shannon, much like he was in "Revolutionary Road", knocks the ball out of the park with a career-defining turn. It is an absolute sham he, and the film for this matter, were not nominated for Best Actor and Best Picture, respectively. One of the best films about mental illness since "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", with an ending for the ages.

• jay n

  
  Slow paced character study is at times obscure in purpose and tries your patience but is worth sticking with if for nothing else than the amazing performance by Michael Shannon as a man trying hard to keep himself together as he feels things slipping away. He reveals himself here as… More
  Slow paced character study is at times obscure in purpose and tries your patience but is worth sticking with if for nothing else than the amazing performance by Michael Shannon as a man trying hard to keep himself together as he feels things slipping away. He reveals himself here as an actor of tremendous skill, that this performance wasn't nominated for every award possible is a real shame. Jessica Chastain also demonstrates she is an actress of wide scope, she has been in a lot of films lately but unlike a lot of actresses that seem to be the flavor of the moment there is a great deal of talent to be mined in this case. I didn't particularly care for the film but the talent on display is worth catching this film.

• Melvin W

  
  Curtis: You think I'm crazy? Well, listen up, there's a storm coming like nothing you've ever seen, and not a one of you is prepared for it.  Can someone please explain to me why Michael Shannon didn't get a fucking Oscar nomination. To me, his performance in Take… More
  Curtis: You think I'm crazy? Well, listen up, there's a storm coming like nothing you've ever seen, and not a one of you is prepared for it.  Can someone please explain to me why Michael Shannon didn't get a fucking Oscar nomination. To me, his performance in Take Shelter is the best of his career and the best performance I have seen from any movie made in 2011. He plays Curtis with a surprising subtly, that when he blows up in the middle of the film, it is ridiculous how powerful it is. Take Shelter is thrilling, dramatic, and just a psychological masterpiece. It's unlike anything I have ever seen. It doesn't have a mainstream feel to it, which I like, but it also should be liked by people who don't like indies. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain are a wonderful combination. What a year Chastain had, Take Shelter, The Help, and The Tree of Life.  Take Shelter follows a man, Curtis who lives in a small town in Ohio. He is married and has a young daughter who is deaf. Curtis starts having weird dreams where a massive storm is present. Then he starts hallucinating the sound of thunder and he see birds flying in weird patterns. He's worried that he may be developing a sort of psychological disease, as his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her thirties. He feels compelled to build a costly tornado shelter in his back yard because of his visions, and know one quite understands the change in him. If for some reason you don't want to watch this movie right now, go watch the trailer. If you still don't want to watch it, I don't know what you want. This film is an amazing experience. It's truly original and absorbing like no other movie has been in quite awhile.  This is another movie that was completely ignored by the academy and it's a damn shame. One of the better movies of the year for sure.

• Manu G

  
  Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. Very Good Thriller! Take Shelter is a brooding, psychological thriller that does a wonderful job of generating foreboding and unease,… More
  Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. Very Good Thriller! Take Shelter is a brooding, psychological thriller that does a wonderful job of generating foreboding and unease, while hinting at bigger thematic questions. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain really acted wondefully, they really took it to a high level. We live in uncertain times. Those who carry on blindly and trust it will be okay may be the maddest of us all. Take Shelter shows one man unravelling, and resonates with all our contemporary worries. Highly recommended. Curtis, a father and husband, is starting to experience bad dreams and hallucinations. Assuming mental illness, he seeks medical help and counseling. However, fearing the worst, he starts building an elaborate and expensive storm shelter in their backyard. This storm shelter threatens to tear apart his family, threatens his sanity and his standing in the community, but he builds it to save his family's life.

• Kalel J

  
  Confined, gripping paranoia seeping through the lense of a film with a firm grip on its tonal qualities. TAKE SHELTER is a meticulous, compulsive film - its frames, sounds, and editing spliced carefully to create a creeping tension. It works impressively well, but the main problem… More
  Confined, gripping paranoia seeping through the lense of a film with a firm grip on its tonal qualities. TAKE SHELTER is a meticulous, compulsive film - its frames, sounds, and editing spliced carefully to create a creeping tension. It works impressively well, but the main problem with the film lies in its own devices - it is meanderingly slow with a conclusion a little too clear-cut for an otherwise interpretive effort.

• Reid V

  
  A gripping film about the toll that mental illness can take on a mind and the families caught in the crossfire. Like the main character Curtis, the film just seeps of uneasiness. In fact, the film impressively refrains from indulging in the over dramatic. It is this lack of over… More
  A gripping film about the toll that mental illness can take on a mind and the families caught in the crossfire. Like the main character Curtis, the film just seeps of uneasiness. In fact, the film impressively refrains from indulging in the over dramatic. It is this lack of over dramatization that gives the film it's depth and makes it all the more heart-breaking to watch. Also, Nichols' decision to not only show the "storm" brewing in the protagonist's mind, but also spend time on the smaller but just as vital consequences serves to only heighten the viewer's awareness to the severity of the issue at hand. Every time Shannon dumps change on to a counter-top or makes a rough estimate of the price of his storm shelter, the viewer gets further burdened with the entire cost of this disorder. This film could have focused solely on his grand hallucinations and it would have been entertaining, but I think Nichols' approach is much more powerful. Shannon is perfectly cast and I could not imagine anybody else for the role. While he deserves all the accolades that he has been receiving, Chastain's tender performance is not something that should not be overlooked. On a final note, the special effects are fantastic for it being a relatively small film.

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