Take Shelter

Take Shelter

Directed by: Jeff Nichols

Written by: Jeff Nichols

Plot:

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

Review:

I don’t know if you have checked out the trailer for Take Shelter but it is an enthralling experience. I mean the trailer hooks you in and makes you want to see more, but this trailer’s intensity is misleading, since the film’s intensity was just the opposite. In this 120 minute feature about a man who is losing his mind and trying to figure out why, it just dragged on and on. I looked at my phone to check the time 45 minutes into the film and every 15 minutes after that. It’s a shame that the Boardwalk Empire boys (Michael Shannon and Shea Whigham) wasted such great performances on such a slow, unsatisfying film.

The film follows Michael Shannon’s character, who is hard working small town man just trying to get by with the money that he and his wife (Jessica Chastain) makes. On top of money issues they have a daughter that has lost her hearing. When Shannon’s character starts having hallucinations and delusions about a storm coming he starts building a storm shelter to protect his family, even though they are short on money. Only thing, his family and everybody else in town thinks he is crazy for doing this. 

Michael Shannon is a fantastic actor. If you have not gotten chance to see Boardwalk Empire, you should. Not only because it is a great show, but because Shannon puts on some phenomenal performances. He continues his good work here in Take Shelter. Shannon straddles the line of sanity as he also tries to be a husband and father. His emotions all bubble under the skin until one day he snaps in front of the community in what made for the most powerful scene in the film. 

I think this film would have been a lot better if say 30 minutes were cut out. By the time the ending came, I didn’t have very much interest. But I think of what could have made it a better ending. Shannon was a Noah figure and nobody would believe him that everybody should build an Ark (storm shelter).

Only check this film out if you want to see the performance of a possible best actor nod but otherwise miss this one, since you won’t get a fulfilling story and will most likely be let down

Rating: 3/10

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