Review of Take Shelter (2011) by Spyros T — 16 Jun 2012

I got a bit of A Serious Man vibe from this film. Economic and social turmoil, small town setting, a sense of dread in the air that may or may not be real, family falling apart, and of course the final scene.

Take Shelter is such a unique look at not the end of the world, but how afraid we are that the end could come and take what is dear to us, whether that's looming storms of dread or simply a pink slip.

The film is beautifully shot even in the ordinary moments which I think is what made it stand out. With this and Shotgun Stories, Jeff Nichols has shown he's really good at creating tension out of images that would probably be pretty innocuous in any other context.

Michael Shannon is quickly becoming one of the best actors in Hollywood today. He play's a man's slow descent into paranoid schizophrenia so amazingly good. And yes, he deserved at least a nomination for Best Actor for this role, he completely blows Clooney and Pitt out of the water.