Review of Take Shelter (2011) by Spangle — 25 May 2015

Incredibly symbolic throughout, Take Shelter is a film that really rides on Michael Shannon's terrific performance and Jeff Nichols' great direction. Showing incredible vulnerability, Shannon stars in this character study of a broken man dealing with some troubling visions that threaten not only himself, but his relationships, and his marriage.

Shannon does a great job portraying this troubled man. The writing here is also very good and it does a great job drawing connections between the storms, both exterior and interior. Overall, I would say this film has many strengths, but none that make it a truly great film.

As it stands, it is pretty good, but is missing that "it" factor. Its main negative is that it is a touch too long, even though it is two hours. Some scenes could have been cut and the final result would have been just as effective.

However, as it stands, the film shows both the talents of Nichols and Shannon quite well and show is a pretty emotionally impactful film.