Take Shelter Review

Directed by: Jeff Nichols

Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham.

Running Time: 120 minutes.

Certificate: 15

Synopsis: 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.

TAKE SHELTER is a film that was one of the first that I managed to catch at this year’s London Film Festival, and indeed on of the most interesting. The film revolves around Michael Shannon’s character Curtis, a husband and father who has terrifying visions of an incoming post apocalyptic storm.

Mainstream fodder this is not, and writer/ director Jeff Nichols has crafted a truly unique film that raises many questions, but unfortunately its one of those movies that you cannot really talk about without releasing spoilers.

The film is actually a psychological drama that opens with a series of scenes that would tell you that it is not. There’s some wonderful use of CGI early on, and the slow pacing of the film, along with the jumpy elements could lead you to believe that the piece is almost a kind of psychological horror. Essentially what the film does turn out to be is a cleverly crafted, superbly acted, slow burning, thought-provoking character study that will have you glued to the screen until the very end. Michael Shannon is outstanding in the role of the tortured Curtis, equally matched by the superb Jessica Chastain in the role of his adoring wife. The relationship between husband, wife and daughter is the key to the movie, with the heart of the piece focussing in on the interferences of the outside world and indeed inside world of Curtis’s mind. I was engrossed in this movie from start to finish. The visual effects were superb, the sound used to tremendous effect, and the direction steady by well paced in line with the subject matter.

Unfortunately the film will not be for everyone, and I have spoken to people in the relevant professional field who had issues with how the film ended. Obviously I will not go into detail here, but the comments were that the happenings at the climax underminded the rest of the film. I can see where they are coming from, and I agree to an extent, but that doesn’t take away the fact that this is quite possibly one of the finest films of the year. At the end of a very good year for film, and at the start of a big awards season build-up, TAKE SHELTER is a movie that will be mentioned on red carpets in the lead up to Oscar for sure, and I will be dissappointed if there aren’t a series of nods for the film in award ceremonies in the coming months leading up to those big ones in February.

A must see this weekend.

TAKE SHELTER opens in the UK on Friday 25th November 2011