A relentlessly sinister psychological thriller, writer-director Jeff Nichols's Take Shelter stars Michael Shannon as Curtis LaForche, who initially seems like an ordinary Ohio construction worker, a loving husband to his devoted wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), and an attentive father to his hearing-impaired young daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart). But then Curtis begins to have eerie premonitions of disaster, along with persistent nightmares and hallucinations in which he's attacked by the family dog or nameless, faceless adversaries. Unable to communicate the source of his apocalyptic visions and rising dread, he wonders whether he's suffering from mental illness, especially since his mother (Kathy Baker) was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when she was his age. Determined to save his loved ones, Curtis takes out a risky bank loan to expand the subterranean storm shelter in back of his house, eventually convincing his family to move into the resultant underground bunker. Using luminous cinematography and visual effects, the film makes the weather and topography of America's heartland an integral part of this apocalyptic drama that taps into our current era's free-floating anxiety and pervasive economic insecurity. Shannon delivers an anguished, intensely realistic lead performance, nicely complemented with another memorable turn from Chastain. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon, a Q&A with costars Shannon and Shea Whigham (20 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (11 min.), deleted scenes (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a powerful film.] (S. Granger)
Take Shelter
Sony, 122 min., R, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $45.99, Feb. 14 Volume 27, Issue 1
Take Shelter
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: