Take Shelter (2011) Movie Review

***Reader-Submitted Review***

By: Aaron Moran
(Ireland)

Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Written by: Jeff Nichols
Starring:
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










I recently sat down and watched Jeff Nichols follow up to his wonderful debut Shotgun Stories, much like that unseen gem both films star Michael Shannon who you probably know from Boardwalk Empire.

The film in question is Take Shelter, it is quite a simple story really of an ordinary man who may or may not be losing his mind. The reason for uncertainty on Shannon's Curtis LeForche is because he is having nightmarish visions on a daily basis. Nichols knows how to expertly handle the tone of the film, with every shot of the extraordinary landscape filling you with an impending sense of doom, but this is most definitely Shannon's film. His performance of the tortured Curtis is Oscar winning stuff. The supporting cast are equally strong with the brilliant Jessica Chastain holding her own under Shannon's intense performance. The film does sag in some places and some of the CGI in the nightmare sequences shows the constraints of the budget, but I was completely able to look over this due to Nichols direction and Shannon's towering performance.