Take Shelter

2011

An Ohio family man experiences a series of disturbing visions that gradually begin to weigh on his marriage and community when he begins obsessively constructing a heavily fortified storm shelter. Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) has a good life. He lives in a beautiful house with his loving wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), and their deaf six-year-old daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart), but begins to sense that something ominous is on the horizon when the dark clouds of swelling storms begin invading his dreams. Taciturn, Curtis refuses to discuss the dreams with anyone, but feels compelled to dig out a massive storm shelter with the help of a good friend (Shea Whigham). Meanwhile, as Samantha grows increasingly concerned with Curtis' erratic behavior, the local rumor mill begins to churn. Are Curtis' dreams a prophetic omen of things to come, or is he perhaps headed down the same dark road as his mother, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when she was approximately the same age that he is now? more..

Director: Jeff Nichols

Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon

Reviews

  • The film concludes not with a "surprise ending" but with a series of shots that brilliantly summarize all that has gone before. This is masterful filmmaking.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • Writer-director Jeff Nichols builds his elegantly shot, weather-sensitive horror story in waves of tension that crest as if pulled by tempests.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • A dazzling piece of filmmaking, and much of the dazzle - as well as the anguished darkness - comes from Adam Stone's cinematography, which expresses the swirling state of Curtis's mind with richly varied flavors of light.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    27 April 2013

  • A riveting genre blend of thriller, domestic drama and supernatural horror propelled by a brilliant lead performance.

    - The Hollywood Reporter

    27 April 2013

  • Take Shelter plays Curtis's unraveling at daring length. The film will be too slow and dark for some, and it's definitely overlong.

    Ty Burr - The Boston Globe

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actor

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2012)

  • Jeff Nichols

    Austin Film Critics Association (2011)

  • Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)

    Bodil Awards (2013)

     
  • Jeff Nichols

    Cannes Film Festival (2011)

  • Actor of the Year

    Central Ohio Film Critics Association (2012)