Take Shelter (2011)

Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain

Director: Jeff Nichols

More and more, I’m becoming a Jeff Nichols fan. Perhaps especially when he works with Michael Shannon. His films are personal, subtle and emotional without being melodramatic, and are often about the human condition, what it means when ordinary life intersects with something bigger.

In this film, Michael Shannon plays Curtis, an ordinary, blue collar worker, with a wife and small child, whom he is devoted to. When he starts having strange and disturbing dreams of an apocalyptic storm, he feels tor between questioning himself and building a storm shelter.

Shannon delivers one of his beautiful, restrained performances, telling you everything without saying a word. You really feel for him as he struggles to figure out what’s happening to him, and you question along with him, and his family, whether he’s going crazy or if the storm is really coming. It’s a heartfelt and fascinating film.

See It If: you liked Mud, Midnight Special or if you want an antidote to the huge blockbusters, this film is closer to home.