“Take Shelter” is a beautiful and tender yet painful and unsettling drama written and directed by Jeff Nichols. It’s a near flawless exercise in enigmatic but measured filmmaking anchored by an unforgettable Oscar worthy performance from Michael Shannon. Nichols brings a haunting realism to his examination of mental illness and it’s because of our genuine relatability to his believable and organic characters that the journey is so heart-wrenching.
Shannon plays Curtis LaForche, a loving husband and father who begins to experience disturbing dreams and hallucinations. His dreams always start with an approaching storm and as he teeters on the edge of insanity, the storm becomes more and more of a reality to him. Curtis is different than so many of these characters we have seen before. He’s not an bad man. While he does struggle to keep his grasp on reality, he also recognizes it and takes several sensible measures to curb it. He genuinely loves his family and his greatest fear is that the same mental illness that effected his mother will effect him and those closest to him. As the storm from his dreams melds more into Curtis’ reality, he begins working on an old tornado shelter in the backyard. It’s this project that brings his troubles to the surface and it’s the family he desperately hopes to protect that may pay the ultimate price.
Shannon is simply brilliant in this film. There was no other performance that year that grabbed me and moved me the way he did in “Take Shelter”. There are so many elements to his character and Shannon sells them all. In some scenes you hurt with him as he fights the coming storm. Other times you can’t help but fear him as he loses ground in the war for his sanity. The entire film hinges on Curtis’ character and without Shannon’s captivating work the movie would have flat-lined.
Jessica Chastain beautifully portrays Curtis’ wife Samantha. She’s given much more to do here than in her earlier film “The Tree of Life” but she’s just as mesmerizing. Samantha is a loyal and devoted wife and mother. She’s a woman of faith with an unwavering love for her husband even as things get more complicated. In many ways she is the more sympathetic character in the film. Not only is she the gentle voice of reason, but she must deal with the changes in her husband while taking care of their hearing impaired daughter. She truly is a remarkable woman and Chastain is magnetic in every scene she is in. It’s impossible not to be drawn in by her authentic and subtle performance.
“Take Shelter” moves at a very deliberate pace, slowly developing the story but never getting weighted down by the subject matter. The main characters are so well written and their unfolding relationship keeps things grounded while also raising the stakes. Nichols also does a fantastic job capturing the details and nuances of small town middle America. It’s little things like embroidered pillows and Lion’s Club luncheons that stand out for those like me who are familiar with this part of the country.
My one problem with “Take Shelter” is its vague and ambiguous ending. Sure it leaves things open for all sorts of interpretations but I’m not sure that’s the best approach for this type of story. I can think of a couple of places close to the end that would have made for a stronger and more moving finish if only Nichols could put down his pen. It’s not that it’s a terrible conclusion to an otherwise great film, but it’s confusing and I would be lying if I said I knew exactly what took place.
“Take Shelter” paints an intriguing picture of an embattled man losing a war within himself. It presents such an authentic family dynamic that makes the consequences of Curtis’ potential fall so much more devastating. It can sometimes be a difficult film to watch but it’s thoroughly rewarding. Shannon and Chastain both deserved Oscar nominations for their work in what is one of my favorite movies of the past few years.
keithandthemovies.com 
Michael Shannon is so incredibly talented. As you said, this film would not be anywhere near as great as it is without his stellar performance as Curtis. I happened to love the ambiguity of the ending as well, but we can agree to disagree there. 🙂 Nice review!
Thanks for checking out the review. Shannon was incredible. It was my favorite performance of that year. It’s a delves rating performance and my heart was shattered for what Curtis was facing. Brilliantly written, acted, and directed.
Looking to catch up with this. After Mud, I am very intrigued by the writer/director.
“Take Shelter” was my #2 movie of that year and Michael Shannon’s performance was the best of the year IMO. I was pretty furious that he didn’t at least get an Oscar nomination. Shouldn’t be surprised though. Really a movie worth checking out.
Easily one of my all time favourite films! Still just a bit better than Mud, but not by much. Shannon should have got an Oscar nod for his performance. Hey, what’s the big idea Keith? How come I never see you over on my blog, you too good for me? Haha, just kidding! Outstanding review :).
Yes, yes, yes! As I mentioned on another comment. Shannon gave my favorite performance from that year. Brilliant work that should have earned him an Oscar. Really great to hear someone else live this movie like I do.
I have absolutely no excuse for not stopping by lately. I shall correct that! Oh yes I shall! 🙂
Haha, thanks! How can one not love this movie, it is visually stunning and immensely powerful. I guess people just aren’t as smart as we are ;).
Good review Keith. A very good movie that builds up as much tension as it possibly can, only to end us on a note wondering and thinking about it more and more.
Thanks man. Very overlooked movie when it came out. Really glad to hear so many have now seen it and appreciated it.
For some reason I thought you’d reviewed this already, man. No matter, it’s fine work on an absolutely superb movie. I gave it 4 stars when I seen a few years back but I think I might have short changed it. Can’t wait to give this a re-watch.
You’re exactly right bro. I’m on vacation this week so I’m posting “older reviews that no one read”. They’re some of my first WordPress reviews from when I first started using it that actually received ZERO comments.
As for the movie, I truly live it. Shannon was brilliant but I also loved Chastain in it too. Then there’s Ray McKinnon who I didn’t even mention. He’s a terribly underrated actor whom I love.
Don’t know why I never commented on this before. I’m sure I seen it. Anyway, I’m here now.
I also remember you mentioning Ray McKinnon before as well. Many memories are trudging up here. LOL.
This is the second really positive review I’ve seen of this in as many weeks. Think I shall be placing an order with a popular online store to check this out 🙂 Nice review man.
Thanks dude. It’s a hypnotic film. I love it. You really should check it out. Hope you’ll review it when you do. I’d love to hear your take on it.
Nice review. I loved this myself and I feel the Academy unfairly ignored this film.
Amen to that!
Excellent film, both Shannon and Chastain’s best film so far. Love to see them hook up again in the future.
Awesome! I live to hear love for this flick. It’s a gem no doubt!
I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch this but your review has completely changed my mind.
Awesome! It’s fantastic! I hope you’ll see it and let me know what you think!
Awesome review Keith!! I still need to see this but no doubt Shannon did a great job. He’s become quite a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
Oh you MUST see this Ruth. It’s such a powerful and moving film. Shannon should have gotten the Oscar for this. He was absolutely brilliant.
always good to see Take Shelter getting reviewed, nice one Keith!
I reviewed this shortly after I started using WordPress to blog. It got ZERO responses so I thought I would give it another run. I’m going to be doing that for the rest of the week.
I gave done that a couple of times as you may know, if it never got the credit it deserved get it out there I say! Thanks Keith!
Great review! I really loved the movie, it was so well done, especially the way that his dreams and visions were so realistic and it was hard to say if it was reality or imagination.
I love hearing so many great thoughts on this film. I just think its fantastic. It was underappreciated by many.
I so want to see this now after you and FilmHipster have praised it so highly. Maybe now that finals are over I can get that in…
Definitely make time for it my friend. It’s a really good film featuring top notch performances. It flew under a lot of radars.
Sounds good. I’ll rent it. Thanks, Keith!
Awesome Cindy! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it.
Excellent review. I loved this film also, probably more than Mud. It even placed 2nd on my top films of 2011.
Awesome!!! It was second on my list too!!! I also listed Shannon as giving my #1 ranked performance of that year.
Great minds do think alike! 🙂 Shannon was indeed excellent. The only 2011 film that topped Take Shelter for me was The Tree of Life.
LOL! Tree of Life was my #1 as well!!!
Wow! Wonderful write up, and great score. You have definitely made me very interested to have a look at this!
Thanks Zoe! Yes it’s a must watch. Hope you’ll check it out soon. There’s so much to love about it.
Great review, Keith. This is one of my favorite films from recent years, and I still can’t stop thinking about that ending. Had many a good discussion about that one. 🙂
Thanks. Glad to hear you loved it also.
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