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IMDbPro

Take Shelter

  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
102K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,307
348
Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, and Tova Stewart in 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.
Play trailer2:07
1 Video
93 Photos
DramaHorrorSci-Fi
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
102K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,307
348
    • Jeff Nichols
    • Jeff Nichols
  • Stars
    • Michael Shannon
    • Jessica Chastain
    • Shea Whigham
    • Jeff Nichols
    • Jeff Nichols
  • Stars
    • Michael Shannon
    • Jessica Chastain
    • Shea Whigham
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 392User reviews
    • 345Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Take Shelter
    Trailer 2:07
    Watch Take Shelter

    Photos93

    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)
    Jessica Chastain in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon and Tova Stewart in Take Shelter (2011)
    Jessica Chastain and Tova Stewart in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)
    Jessica Chastain in Take Shelter (2011)
    Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Shannon
    Michael Shannon
    • Curtis
    Jessica Chastain
    Jessica Chastain
    • Samantha
    Shea Whigham
    Shea Whigham
    • Dewart
    Tova Stewart
    Tova Stewart
    • Hannah LaForche
    Katy Mixon
    Katy Mixon
    • Nat
    Natasha Randall
    • Cammie
    Ron Kennard
    • Russell
    Scott Knisley
    • Lewis
    Robert Longstreet
    Robert Longstreet
    • Jim
    Heather Caldwell
    Heather Caldwell
    • Special Ed Teacher
    Sheila Hullihen
    • Woman in Road
    John Kloock
    • Man in Road
    Marianna Alacchi
    Marianna Alacchi
    • Bargain Hunter
    Jacque Jovic
    • News Anchor
    Bob Maines
    • Walter Jacobs
    Charles Moore
    Charles Moore
    • Man at Window
    Pete Ferry
    • Melvin
    Molly McGinnis
    • Janine
      • Jeff Nichols
      • Jeff Nichols
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Tova Stewart, the little girl who plays Hannah, is deaf in real life, and so are both her parents.
    • 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).
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Curtis: [urging] Sam.

      Samantha: Okay.

    • Connections
      Featured in Maltin on Movies: 50/50 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      Shelter
      Written & Performed by Ben Nichols

      Copyright 2010 Empty Roard Music (ASCAP)

    User reviews392

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Challenging but supremely suspenseful character-driven drama
    When done right, few tales are more riveting than a person's descent into madness. Alfred Hitchcock proved this time and time again and Jeff Nichols reinforces it in "Take Shelter," a film likely to have been lauded by the master of suspense himself. Anchored by the performances of Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, "Shelter" broods and festers but ultimately thrives on the brink between buildup and utter chaos.

    Shannon, far from a household name but a favorite of cinephiles since his head-turning supporting role in "Revolutionary Road," stars as Curtis, a construction worker and father living in a rural town with his wife, Sam (Chastain), and their young daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart). Their daughter has developed extreme hearing loss and Curtis' job provides them the benefits necessary to afford cochlear implants, but Curtis' recent slew of horrifically real nightmares seems to be the real issue here.

    In his dreams, Curtis experiences premonitions of a near-apocalyptic storm that includes odd bird flight formations, motor-oil-like rain, and twisters, and appears to make everyone that shows up in his dreams eerily violent from his dog to complete strangers. The resulting paranoia and occasional physical side affects leads Curtis to seek medical attention, but also to start renovating the storm cellar in his backyard should his visions come true.

    The question of whether Curtis is a prophet of sorts or just mentally disturbed drives the film — not much else does. Nichols tells this story largely through a series of character snapshots depicting Curtis riding the ups and downs caused by these nightmares. A few key moments boil the story to a point, namely a riveting scene when Curtis loses it a social luncheon, but the pensive script withholds from us straight through the end like a well-trained indie film.

    As we go deeper and deeper with Curtis — and eventually Samantha and Curtis' best friend/co-worker Dewart (Shea Whigham) — we do learn some key details about Curtis' medical history that shed light on the situation, but even in the midst of fact, Nichols never gives us the satisfaction of arriving at any concrete conclusion about his predicament.

    With the weight of an immensely introverted character dealing with a mental struggle placed squarely on his shoulders, Shannon proves why you'll only see him with more and more frequency in the future. He makes sure we care about what happens to Curtis, but beyond that he slips back and forth between deserving sympathy and deserving skepticism. He is not simply some Jobian character to whom bad things are happening, and this makes his challenge all the more challenging for the viewer. Credit as well to Nichols for crafting a protagonist far from the norm.

    The winner of 2011′s most ubiquitous actress award, Chastain, gets the more alpha-type role instead. She's the good-hearted, open and loving type driven entirely by logic and unafraid of confrontation. Many will identify more with Samantha as a result, which adds a layer of complexity to the film to say the least.

    "Take Shelter" offers compelling character-driven suspense, though at times it will try your patience. If you can chalk that up to quintessential indie filmmaking, then by all means do and enjoy this complex and challenging character portrait all the more for it. However, the real thrill of this type of film is that at any moment the bottom might drop out on the entire story (aka the $%&+ might hit the proverbial tornado); the difference between liking that and loving it is accepting when it doesn't.

    ~Steven C

    Check out my site, moviemusereviews.com
    helpful•83
    40
    • Movie_Muse_Reviews
    • Nov 3, 2011

    FAQ2

    • Is Tova Stewart, the little girl who plays Hannah, deaf in real life?
    • Is the storm at the end of the film real or just another dream?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 2011 (Croatia)
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • LaGrange, Ohio, USA
    • Production companies
      • Hydraulx
      • REI Capital
      • Grove Hill Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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    Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, and Tova Stewart in Take Shelter (2011)
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