Review of Take Shelter (2011) by Ankur D — 05 Sep 2012

Often films like Take Shelter, which have a main character with visions of doom and disaster, give us the notion that the character is right and people around him are wrong. However Take Shelter does not take the route instead it leaves us to ponder and question the character and their intentions. Jeff Nichols knows just how to do that and uses Michael Shannon's amazing performance as a driving tool to look at a man's battle with himself.

Shannon plays Curtis who is suddenly plagued with visions of, gasoline like liquid falling from the sky and giant hurricanes approaching his small home and family. He soon believes the hallucinations and dreams to be visions, so he begins construction on an unfinished tornado shelter in his backyard for his family, who begin to question his intentions.

Take Shelter is a very well crafted film which is well carved by Jeff Nichols who uses beautiful imagery for Curtis's dreams, a haunting melodic score to accompany Michael Shannon's amazing central performance. A lot of the time you trust Curtis, you believe that these visions are more than just nightmare and panic endured visions, rather they could be his insecurities of losing his family or just his mother's schizophrenia creeping into his brain. Jeff Nichol also uses a clever trick of holding our suspension of disbelief of Michael's visions until the very end of them, giving us the time to re-evaluate the scenarios and the hidden meanings to each vision. A lot of the visions involve Curtis and his family more than anybody else which leaves us to wonder whether there's more to the visions than just the apocalypse.

Stunningly directed and well performed Shelter is a film that shows less but tells more about characters and leaves you on the edge of your seat.

8.5/10.