Take Shelter (2011)

Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

Director:

Jeff Nichols

Writer:

Jeff Nichols

Stars:

Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart

33 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Shannon	...	Curtis
Jessica Chastain	...	Samantha
Tova Stewart	...	Hannah
Shea Whigham	...	Dewart
Katy Mixon	...	Nat
Natasha Randall	...	Cammie
Ron Kennard	...	Russell
Scott Knisley	...	Lewis
Robert Longstreet	...	Jim
Heather Caldwell	...	Special Ed Teacher
Sheila Hullihen	...	Woman in Road
John Kloock	...	Man in Road
Marianna Alacchi	...	Bargain Hunter
Jacque Jovic	...	News Anchor
Bob Maines	...	Walter Jacobs

Storyline

Curtis, a father and husband, is starting to experience bad dreams and hallucinations. Assuming mental illness, he seeks medical help and counseling. However, fearing the worst, he starts building an elaborate and expensive storm shelter in their backyard. This storm shelter threatens to tear apart his family, threatens his sanity and his standing in the community, but he builds it to save his family's life.

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Plot Keywords:

storm | storm shelter | illness | backyard | tears | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2011 (Croatia)

Also Known As:

U zaklon

Filming Locations:

Elyria, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$52,041 (USA) (30 September 2011)

Gross:

$1,729,969 (USA) (16 March 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hydraulx, REI Capital, Grove Hill Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As it is mentioned in the DVD special features, the extras in the group lunch at the Lion's Club were only told they would get free lunch and be in a movie. They had no idea the scene would escalate to a physical fight and (seemingly) psychotic rant.

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Goofs

When Curtis has his seizure, the time on the nightstand clock changes from 2:23 to 2:30, and then back to 2:28 (which then changes to 2:29 on camera).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Curtis: [to daughter] No, no, no. Don't feed the dog, darling.

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Connections

Featured in Brows Held High: Melancholia (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Shelter"
Written & Performed by Ben Nichols

User Reviews

I still whisper

Take Shelter is a brooding, psychological thriller that does a wonderful job of generating foreboding and unease, while hinting at bigger thematic questions.

Curtis is in construction, a steady guy in a steady job taking care of his family. His mate Dewart tells him, kindly and a little enviously, that he has a good life. That comment comes just as nightmares creep into the daytime for Curtis and the pressures of the possible descent of mental illness, and impending catastrophe, seep into his being. He makes the decision to tell no one but medical professionals. He needs help. But that does not mean his fears are unfounded.

Michael Shannon is superb as mad-or-is-he? Curtis. When he gives voice to his darkest fears in a very public forum, he is the definition of unhinged. Jessica Chastain plays his put-upon wife Samantha, and gets to test her range in a nightmare sequence where she is tempted by a breadknife and the sight of her husband's exposed neck. The look on her face had me pushing back in my seat.

The film opens with big, brooding questions. Is Curtis somehow psychic? Is the approaching doom related to their daughter's illness? Does the ever-present threat of economic ruin somehow inform these impending cataclysmic events? Horror film tropes are employed in the nightmare sequences, as Curtis wakes up just as he is attacked. This becomes slightly predictable at the third dream, and the film sags slightly in the second act. The two-hours plus running time is a tad flabby. But Shannon is commanding, the cinematography eerily beautiful, and the ending deliciously straightforward and ambiguous.

We live in uncertain times. Those who carry on blindly and trust it will be okay may be the maddest of us all. Take Shelter shows one man unravelling, and resonates with all our contemporary worries. Highly recommended.