Take Shelter

How do you handle visions about the future that are so real that you're sure they're going to happen? I suppose that's what it's like to be a prophet, but being a prophet in 2011 is a quick way to get you committed.

Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) was having incredibly vivid visions; so much so he began to build an underground shelter much like Noah began building his arc. Curtis envisioned a biblical storm that would decimate all in its path. The problem is no one else believed him, and there is that small thing about his mom (Kathy Baker) being schizophrenic. Perhaps it was hereditary.

"Take Shelter" moves slow and methodically. It's a bit hard to be patient with the movie as Curtis' life crumbles around him and we're waiting to see if his visions are correct or not. Curtis is such a good guy you don't want him to be going crazy, but you have to prepare for that possibility. To add to his complications he has a deaf daughter (Tova Stewart) in need of an expensive surgery. Curtis paints himself into an untenable position: his vision must come true or he must come to grips with his mental illness.

It seems that art films come in all shapes and sizes these days. If you look hard enough you'll find small independent art films within any genre. Take Shelter is a film you will find amongst dramatic thrillers, and it is definitely one you should seek out. It stars Michael Shannon as Curtis, a middle class family man working on the pipeline in Ohio. He leads a capable life where he must cope with his monetary issues as well as his deaf daughter. But he makes the most of it and lives a life of relative ease and compassion for his family. However, things become complicated when he starts seeing apocalyptic visions of a terrible storm he believes is on its way. The dreams and visions make his life very difficult and it becomes increasingly more stressful. Curtis must fight a battle within himself as he tries to figure out if these visions are meaningful or if he is just going crazy, as well as with his family and friends who become more disconnected from him as his sanity seems to deteriorate before their eyes. Take Shelter is a harrowing, dramatic, and slow building film that will surely amaze you once it is all over.

Take Shelter is a film that moves so slowly and builds so dramatically that one begins to wonder if we're every getting to the end. It's an incredibly quiet and sincerely somber film. We spend almost the entire movie honing in on Michael Shannon's powerful facial expressions and the deep thought going into the story. It progresses so slowly with a build up that pushes its way through molasses.

I'll admit that I was getting worried about this film not being as good as I expected it to be. I was afraid it might not live up to my expectations and that the payoff wouldn't be worth the crawling build up. But one you reach the end you will be incredibly satisfied. The payoff is incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better ending. It could not have been executed more precisely. It plays to something bigger than what you could have ever expected from this fantastic film. Just as my mind began to slip away from Take Shelter it ended with such a deep and deafening bang that my eyes flew open to realize the incredible film I had just sat through.

Take Shelter might not look like much at first, but it turns out to be a tremendous film. It's smart, engaging, fascinating, and brutally sincere. This is a must see film for 2011. Depending on your attention span you may want to give up about an hour and a half in, but if you stick around for the end you will be very satisfied. I guarantee it.

The family man and construction worker Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) is happily married with Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and they have a beloved deaf daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart). Curtis works with his friend Dewart (Shea Whigham) in his team and his mother Sarah (Kathy Baker) has been interned in a clinic since she was thirty years old with paranoid schizophrenia.

Out of the blue, Curtis has nightmares and visions of an apocalyptic storm and he becomes obsessed to build a well equipped storm shelter for his family and him in his backyard. Curtis spends the family savings and gets a loan from the bank to prepare the shelter. His obsession affects his work and his relationship with the locals and Curtis loses his job. Does Curtis have a premonition or is he losing his sanity?

"Take Shelter" is an original drama developed in slow pace with magnificent performances. The screenplay is very well written and despite the running time of 120 minutes, the movie keeps the attention of the viewer until the very last ironic scene. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Abrigo" ("The Shelter")

Note: On 21 August 2024. I saw this film again.

Take Shelter is a brooding, psychological thriller that does a wonderful job of generating foreboding and unease, while hinting at bigger thematic questions.

Curtis is in construction, a steady guy in a steady job taking care of his family. His mate Dewart tells him, kindly and a little enviously, that he has a good life. That comment comes just as nightmares creep into the daytime for Curtis and the pressures of the possible descent of mental illness, and impending catastrophe, seep into his being. He makes the decision to tell no one but medical professionals. He needs help. But that does not mean his fears are unfounded.

Michael Shannon is superb as mad-or-is-he? Curtis. When he gives voice to his darkest fears in a very public forum, he is the definition of unhinged. Jessica Chastain plays his put-upon wife Samantha, and gets to test her range in a nightmare sequence where she is tempted by a breadknife and the sight of her husband's exposed neck. The look on her face had me pushing back in my seat.

The film opens with big, brooding questions. Is Curtis somehow psychic? Is the approaching doom related to their daughter's illness? Does the ever-present threat of economic ruin somehow inform these impending cataclysmic events? Horror film tropes are employed in the nightmare sequences, as Curtis wakes up just as he is attacked. This becomes slightly predictable at the third dream, and the film sags slightly in the second act. The two-hours plus running time is a tad flabby. But Shannon is commanding, the cinematography eerily beautiful, and the ending deliciously straightforward and ambiguous.

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.

This is my first review, I felt compelled to write it due to this absolutely amazing and thought provoking movie. For me it's a work of art, from the acting to the dialogue to the cinematography but more importantly the subject matter. I have dealt with issues in my own family that relate to this movie so it really hit a raw nerve with me. It actually opened my eyes and mind to my own past.

Why this movie has gone under the radar in terms of awards baffles me!? The acting is something I've never seen before and I've watched a lot of movies in my time. It was so real, all the actors were brilliant but Michael Shannon who plays Curtis and Jessica Chastain who plays Sam were outstandingly good. Some of their scenes together had me in tears. The little girl who played their daughter was brilliant to, so believable.

You really must see this movie, I'd go as far as saying it's the best movie I've seen for years. Jeff Nichols has an amazing mind! All I can say is WOW!