Review of Take Shelter (2011) by Andrew L — 12 Feb 2017

All I can say is this is a fantastic film. Jeff Nichols shows why he is one of the better filmmakers today. He takes a story that is extremely bleak and somehow adds layer after layer to the story to make the main character Curtis more than just your typical tragic character.

The movie centers around Curtis who seems to have a stable construction job and a great, but struggling family consisting of his wife Samantha and his deaf daughter Hannah. He starts to have dreams about an apocalypse, which leads him to build a storm shelter. The first layer we see is Curtis as a simple man with financial troubles but everything else seems to be perfect. Not too long after that, we slowly see Curtis begin to unravel; The second layer is a man who is confused, thus turning his nightmares/hallucinations into an obsession;the third layer is of Curtis depressed;and finally, the fourth layer is of Curtis who is wanting to seek redemption/get back to normalcy. Jeff Nichols doesn't hold back on any of the emotional punches as well. His direction is also a story in itself where each little detail seemed to be intrinsically crafted and there never is a dull moment because of that.

The acting by Michael Shannon was great. He was able to portray Curtis with such honesty that every moment seemed believable. Jessica Chastain did a fantastic job. While she wasn't the main focus, Chastain gave Samantha a big heart, again with such honesty that every moment was believable. This is Jessica Chastain's best work in my opinion. Definitely worth it to watch.