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

Is anyone seeing this?

I'm going to try to be restrained in my praise of this film, but it's going to be hard, because I think it's about as close to perfect film-making as I've ever seen. I generally only write reviews for movies I've really loved, or really hated, and this movie I really loved.

This is a masterpiece.

I don't know where to begin, really. Leaving the cinema, I felt as though I'd had some kind of accident - a little as if I was in shock. I had a very strong physical reaction to this movie, in tandem with my emotional response, and in many scenes I felt my heart racing. This is powerful material and has been delivered with great skill. The pacing is perfect, moving slowly and quietly toward not one but several emotional climaxes, each greater than the last, allowing the audience to enter Curtis' world and share his emotions. The cinematography was beautiful, elegant, and achingly frightening at times; the dialogue was so real it hurt, and the soundtrack sinister and intense. Michael Shannon should win something for this role - he is Curtis completely and it's a complex and deeply sympathetic portrayal of the confusion of a good man, a complicated portrait of a man trying to BE a good man, in the face of his own fear. From the very beginning, the atmosphere is unsettled, and some of the dream sequences are heart-stoppingly frightening. The story is multi-layered, working with ideas of family, mental illness, responsibility, fear, the current feeling of the-end-is-nigh that everyone senses - when Curtis said, 'Is anyone seeing this?' I almost cried for him.

I have thought very hard about this film since I saw it two days ago and I simply cannot fault anything about it, not one thing. I know I'm going to see it many times. It left me shaken and moved and I cannot wait to see more from this writer/director. Hands down the movie of the century, so far.