Take Shelter (2011) - Hot on a lot of positive buzz from Cannes, Sundance and the Gotham Awards, Take Shelter tells the story of a man, Curtis, coming to terms with visions and nightmares which seem to either foretell a cataclysmic weather event or the onset of paranoid schizophrenia. Afraid for his family's safety, Curtis starts to act upon what his visions are telling him and is compelled to build a storm shelter in his backyard, causing conflict with his wife, family and colleagues.
The film could be categorized as a study in magical realism, but that would be doing it a great disservice. Curtis' "episodes" are starkly presented, often to chilling effect. Curtis' real-life world is devoid of romanticism but that's not to say that it is devoid of heart. Families and friends love one another, but there are bills to pay, jobs to finish and people to care for. Anchoring the story in the muck and joy of real life serves the double purpose of making Curtis' descent into his personal hell both alarming and deeply affecting, culminating into an absolutely jaw-dropping scene where Curtis' actions appear to come to a head. Unfortunately, the movie looses its impetus shortly after that and unravels into a series of head-scratching set-pieces that almost devalue all the fantastic work that had been done before. It is as though a great novel had been turned into a gimmicky novella at the last second and I believe that there is a definite case for cutting 10 minutes from the movie's running time or changing the ending entirely.
The cast are absolutely brilliant with a special mention to the two Boardwalk Empire alumni, Michael Shannon who plays Curtis and Shea Whigham who plays his best friend, as well as Jessica Chastain who plays Curtis' wife. I'd never heard of the director Jeff Nichols before but he seems to have an interesting eye and I'll try to keep track of his future work. Too bad about the ending, but there is enough good there to salvage a recommendation.
pro
