Take Shelter

"It's hard to explain, because it's not just a dream. It's a feeling."

Forget about Martha Marcy May Marlene and its impossible-to-remember title. If you're interested in watching a 2011 film that delves into the most obscure depths of a character's ostensibly paranoid mind and goes further than just TOUCHING on the difficulties experienced by someone who may or may not be losing his mind, it's as easy as saying "One for Take Shelter" at the ticket counter. This is one of the most layered, profound and wholly satisfying dramas that I've had the pleasure of experiencing this year, complete with three-dimensional characters, breathtaking performances and an absolutely masterful final 20 minutes or so. Take Shelter combines kitchen sink realism with dark psychological undertones, and manages to give all of that a slow-building sense of tension that leads to a searing, cataclysmic finale.

Curtis (Michael Shannon) and Samantha (Jessica Chastain) live in a modest house with their deaf daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart). It quickly becomes obvious that the couple's efforts are very much concentrated on working as hard as they can to give their disadvantaged daughter the best life they possibly can (as Samantha points out, Hannah has a hard time "fitting in" with the other kids, as a result of her condition). Curtis comes across as a dedicated provider who loves his wife and daughter. But something starts happening to him. He starts having a variety of dreams, all of which involve him and Hannah being in situations in which physical harm may come to them. He sees storms and tornadoes coming. He even has a dream in which their own dog attacks them. Paranoia naturally ensues. Curtis locks the dog away and starts taking measures to build a tornado shelter. We find out that Curtis' mother had suffered from schizophrenia right around Curtis' age. Does this mean that Curtis inherited the mental condition, or is there something darker going on in the gallows of Curtis' mind?

Contrary to Martha Marcy May Marlene, this film doesn't limit itself to saying "Hey, look, the main character is paranoid and he's suffering and having a hard time dealing with this!" for 2 straight hours, without saying anything beyond that. Take Shelter is not only interested in exploiting the mystery as to where Curtis' dreams are actually coming from, but it also wants to explore the emotional impact of these dreams, and to make things better, it's a multi-layered impact. You see, the fact that Curtis starts taking extreme measures such as building a tornado shelter has devastating financial circumstances for the family (which is supposed to be saving money for an operation for little Hannah). Anyone who's dealt with financial strife and who has argued with a close friend or family member over poor money-related decisions will instantly relate to Samantha's plight here. In addition to that, though, once Curtis starts manifesting his paranoia while he's not sleeping, the emotional effect on the family becomes too much to take. One gets the feeling that Curtis may snap at any moment, and since we've come to care about both him and his two girls, there's an inevitable sense of tension and concern that something terrible may happen at any moment.

Michael Shannon gives an earth-shattering lead performance. It's the kind of work that the Oscar was made for (if, of course, Oscar wins were based more on merit than on campaigns and publicity). Shannon doesn't coast on the fact that he was given an easily exploitable Oscar-bait role. Instead, Shannon displays incredible skill at capturing all the nuances and mannerisms of someone who's not all there. This skill was already more than hinted at in 2008's Revolutionary Road, and I'm glad that someone actually took note of it and realized that it'd be a waste not to milk his skill by having him play a character as amazingly complex as Curtis. Considering the large amount of buzz surrounding newcomer Jessica Chastain this year, it's common knowledge that the Academy will reward her with a nomination - we just don't know for which movie. Sadly, if Take Shelter continues to be as under-the-radar as it has been, her nomination may not be for this film, even though (now that I've seen all four of her 2011 performances), there's no doubt in my mind that this is the film for which she should be recognized. She was appropriately angelic in The Tree of Life and equally resolute in The Debt, and she did a great job at mixing comedy with sadness in The Help, but none of these performances is on par with her extraordinary work in Take Shelter. She could've relegated herself to playing a shrewish wife, but instead, she perfectly displays her emotional conflict over wanting to help her husband overcome his mental strife, yet at the same time, protecting her daughter's livelihood. I can't imagine that there's another 2011 film lurking out there that features a more interesting, relatable and at times hard-to-watch portrait of a couple dealing with troubles of both the physical world and beyond.

Yes, there are times (especially during the first act) in which Take Shelter moves at a bit of a slow pace, but the reasoning behind the filmmakers' decision for that becomes readily apparent as the film's bone-chilling final 20 minutes get under way. We realize that it was absolutely necessary to start off with a quiet sense of dread in order to escalate into a finale as monumentally devastating as this. We've seen dozens of movie characters in scenes in which they're getting ready to physically open a door, but they're unsure as to whether or not they should do it. Horror movies do this all the time, and they often use it as a cheap gimmick more than anything else. Take Shelter goes in the opposite direction of that. It's the most suspenseful moment I've sat through in a theater this year, and it's made a million times better by the fact that it's so emotionally-charged and by the potential consequences of what may (or may not) be behind that door. The film's final scene is an absolute beauty. And as I watched Chastain's face during the movie's last moments, I couldn't help but think: "This is the type of film that The Tree of Life should've been." That's because Take Shelter isn't artsy for the sake of being artsy, and it doesn't limit itself to a glossed-over, superficial analysis of family dynamics and emotional difficulties. It digs deeply into all of those issues, and makes them concrete and palpable, which in turn, makes audience members be able to relate to them very strongly. Add two of the most passionate and heartfelt performances of the year, with Shannon's turn capturing madness and brokenness better than any actor in recent memory, and you've got one of the finest dramas of the year.

8/10