Michael Shannon, Oscar nominated for his turn in Revolutionary Road and playing the villain in the forthcoming Man of Steel, has taken to leading man status. Though by no means an A-list celebrity (and thank goodness for that), Shannon has worked his way towards the position of one of the most interesting character actors around. His performance as an unhinged war veteran opposite Ashley Judd in Bug was one of 2006’s highlights, while he breathed life into Boardwalk Empire’s Van Alden, thereby giving a badly written character given more presence than it deserves. It’s a good thing Shannon is such a magnetic performer, or Jeff Nichols’s Take Shelter wouldn’t be as memorable.
Shannon stars as the increasingly troubled Curtis, a blue-collar worker feeling the brunt of the economy as there is never enough money to go around. His wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and hearing impaired daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) are the center of Curtis’s existence, and he becomes increasingly aware of his role as provider as his actions start to compromise the stability of domestic life. Troubled by intense nightmares of a massive, destructive storm, Curtis starts to pour all his time and money into constructing the ideal storm shelter for him and his family. At the same time, Curtis is fully aware of the possibility that the dreams point not toward prophecy but mental illness, especially since schizophrenia runs in his family.
Take Shelter is character driven drama that takes a page from that masterpiece of terror, Rosemary’s Baby, in keeping the viewer uncertain as to whether Curtis is losing his mind. I was also reminded of Field of Dreams, where people become suspicious of one man’s vision until he is singularly alone in doing what he feels compelled to do. That film’s tagline, “If you build it, he will come”, suggests an interesting parallel with Take Shelter: is Curtis not possibly pre-empting and inadvertently inviting a massive storm by building a storm shelter? That Curtis is not preparing for the 'ínevitable', but desiring destruction so as to validate his 'visions'?
There are scenes depicting Curtis’s vivid nightmares and scenes showing the townsfolk’s growing distrust in what he’s doing. Even his brother shows up to find out if “everything is OK”. There is also the compulsory Pacino-scene, where even the best actors are reduced to turning over tables and screaming in large crowds because people think the character is “crazy”. We wait for something riveting to happen as the film slowly makes its way to its final act. It must be said that this is the best directed part of the film, with enough tension to almost make up for some of the film’s occasional plodding. As for the ending itself, let’s just say that in its final minutes, the film shoots itself in the foot by straddling creative options instead of committing to a single way of showing what it shows. Either the film should’ve ended a minute earlier, or it should’ve taken another four to five minutes for purposes of elaboration.
Shannon stars as the increasingly troubled Curtis, a blue-collar worker feeling the brunt of the economy as there is never enough money to go around. His wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and hearing impaired daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart) are the center of Curtis’s existence, and he becomes increasingly aware of his role as provider as his actions start to compromise the stability of domestic life. Troubled by intense nightmares of a massive, destructive storm, Curtis starts to pour all his time and money into constructing the ideal storm shelter for him and his family. At the same time, Curtis is fully aware of the possibility that the dreams point not toward prophecy but mental illness, especially since schizophrenia runs in his family.
Take Shelter is character driven drama that takes a page from that masterpiece of terror, Rosemary’s Baby, in keeping the viewer uncertain as to whether Curtis is losing his mind. I was also reminded of Field of Dreams, where people become suspicious of one man’s vision until he is singularly alone in doing what he feels compelled to do. That film’s tagline, “If you build it, he will come”, suggests an interesting parallel with Take Shelter: is Curtis not possibly pre-empting and inadvertently inviting a massive storm by building a storm shelter? That Curtis is not preparing for the 'ínevitable', but desiring destruction so as to validate his 'visions'?
There are scenes depicting Curtis’s vivid nightmares and scenes showing the townsfolk’s growing distrust in what he’s doing. Even his brother shows up to find out if “everything is OK”. There is also the compulsory Pacino-scene, where even the best actors are reduced to turning over tables and screaming in large crowds because people think the character is “crazy”. We wait for something riveting to happen as the film slowly makes its way to its final act. It must be said that this is the best directed part of the film, with enough tension to almost make up for some of the film’s occasional plodding. As for the ending itself, let’s just say that in its final minutes, the film shoots itself in the foot by straddling creative options instead of committing to a single way of showing what it shows. Either the film should’ve ended a minute earlier, or it should’ve taken another four to five minutes for purposes of elaboration.
(And for all the deserved praise that Shannon received for Take Shelter, surely this was simply another shade of what he did in the superior Bug?)
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