Review of Take Shelter (2011) by Victor M — 23 Aug 2014

Just like Melancholia and We Need to Talk About Kevin, "Take Shelter" is another movie that is very well-made, yet very uncomfortable to watch. In fact, the film is especially comparable to the former, which also uses the film medium to portray a mental illness through some sort of impending doom.

"Take Shelter" has the benefit of Michael Shannon's amazing performance, and Jeff Nichols definitely knows how to make audiences care about the characters. Unfortunately, it has an uncompromisingly oppressive atmosphere, which is the point but still makes it a tough watch for most audiences.

Also, the little girl in this movie somehow doesn't cry despite one trauma-inducing scenario after another.