Take Shelter (2011)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?  I would like to direct your eyes to a great new movie I've recently discovered.  It evaded me during its limited theatrical run, but after viewing the trailer in the Special Features section of another movie's DVD, a little voice in the back of my head told me to go to my local Best Buy and blind buy it, something I rarely ever do.  So I did.  I was not disappointed.  I think I've watched it about a zillion times since I bought it (my calculations might be off by one or two times).  It's one of my favorites of 2011.  I only wish that I could've seen it on the big screen.

I personally recommend you go into the movie blind, but if you need some incentive, here's the trailer -

Okay, if you need some more convincing, I'm going to talk about the movie a little.  I absolutely refuse to spoil a couple of particularly sensitive plot points (even though this prevents me from talking about my favorite elements of the film), but I will still label the following paragraphs with a . . .

SPOILER ALERT

So you've got the general idea of what the movie is about - it concerns the mental breakdown of a family man and the consequences of that breakdown on his life and loved ones.  Thematically, it's about a man who doesn't want to lose his family and will go to whatever lengths he can to prevent that.

Michael Shannon gives a splendidly understated portrayal as Curtis LaForche, the guy going crazy.  You may not recognize his name, but his face may be familiar.  He's been in lots of movies but this is his first starring role (we'll see him next summer as the new General Zod in "Superman: Man of Steel").  He does the most important thing an actor can do with a role like this - he generates sympathy.  For the entire movie, I was rooting for him to overcome his demons.  It's a very hard performance to pull off convincingly, but he does it.

While Shannon hogs the spotlight, it's Jessica Chastain, as his wife Samantha, who is the absolute heart and soul of the movie.  Chastain has broken into the "big time" this year.  She was nominated as Best Actress for her role in "The Tree of Life" but, frankly, she gives a far better performance here in "Take Shelter".  She's awesome.

Actually, there isn't a weak link in the entire cast.  Everyone, from the leads on down to the extras, are 100% authentic, and that's a rare thing to find in any movie.  It's a gall durn miracle.

Jeff Nichols is the guy who wrote and directed "Take Shelter".  This is only his second feature film, after his debut with "Shotgun Stories".  He does a bang-up job of slowly and expertly building up the tension, slipping from a deliberately disjointed opening act to a maddening downward spiral into crazytown.  "Tense" is the key word here - it's ever-present, a haunting aura that drives the movie forward at a constant pace.  It's not a face-paced movie by any means, but it goes by quickly, if that makes any sense.  Well, that's how it felt to me.  I also get the feeling that Stephen King would love this movie if he saw it.  There's a definite "Kingly" air to the story.

Speaking of tension, have I mentioned that the storms in Curtis's vision aren't your normal, garden variety thunderboomers?  They're massive buggers that spawn multiple tornadoes and drop a thick, yellow rain which drives people (and animals) into a raving mad frenzy.  Yikes!  All these visions are expertly realized by the visual effects artists at Hydraul-x, despite the film's minuscule budget.

I need to stop now.  There's only so much praising you readers can take before the urge to vomit sets in, so I'll call it quits 'til next time.  You know how sometimes you run across something (a song, movie, or book) so extraordinary that you can't resist the urge to run wildly into the streets, singing its virtues at the top of your lungs for the rest of the world to hear?  This is one of those things.  And I know I'm not alone.  I've already met two other people who are just as crazy for this movie as I am, so it's a madness shared by at least three.

Check it out and see for yourself.  Join us. . .