Review for Take Shelter

Flash Summary: 
A husband/father begins to have increasingly dark and threatening visions, with most including his daughter. The line between insanity and sanity is breached.

Review:
I'll never forget seeing William Friedkin's Bug in theaters when I was younger and being so damned disappointed. For a movie that was boasting "From the director of The Exorcist" and having rave reviews about how scary and suspenseful it was, my 13 year old self was ready to pee my pants. Instead I got a dark drama about a war veteran who is a little whack-o and it starts to rub off on to Ashley Judd. Of course, watching that movie again later in my life, I came to realize how truly wonderful of a movie it really was, and applauded all involved.

Take Shelter, which stars our main character from Bug, Michael Shannon, had quite the exact effect on me. I had seen this movie about 2 years ago when it was initially released with a group of friends at a midnight premiere, and we all had plans to call this movie the scariest thing that ever happened to us. This was not the absolve. Instead, Shelter is a slow crawl to a big finish, with no jump scares, just psychological trauma for your pleasure. As we journey down a dark road with Shannon's character, we realize that this film is not meant to frighten, but to enlighten. Are we crazy for seeing things, or is there a higher reason for it?

While Michael Shannon is incredible (as always) in this film, we would be without a proper cast if Jessica Chastain was not in the credits as his wife. Yeah, that girl from Zero Dark Thirty and Mama. She plays us; the scared individual who desperately wants to believe the person we love so much, but has to find it in her heart first before fully accepting. Both of our main actors were nominated for numerous awards for this film, and it is so incredibly easy to see why. They interact like a real struggling couple, who are going through a very real problem.

My favorite aspect of the film had to be its sense of awareness to Shannon's issue. He does not blindly believe in his visions and just rant about it or forget like in every other dumb horror/thriller. He is seeking help, not just from psychiatrists or doctors, but from his family. Sure, it takes him a while to come around to the family part, but it was really nice to see the way a normal human being would react to these apocalyptic sights, rather than turning him into a crazy old bitter man. I also really enjoyed the daughter's role in the film. While having almost no dialogue since she is deaf, she presents the aspect of silence in the issue of the film. Should I tell somebody what I'm seeing, or should I keep to myself and ignore it? That's always the pending questions with movies like these, and her role kind of embodies that question. You'll have to see the film through to get the answer, though.

This write-up has honestly felt more like a Q and A with myself, because this is a very different movie that I still ponder from time to time. I don't know if a solid review would have been possible on my part, since I'm still not sure about a lot of things in the film. I will say that the effects in the film, primarily the visions, are very clear and well-made, and the shots of the desolate farmland they live in create an even stronger sense of isolation in this film. I wish for everyone that appreciates Michael Shannon (even just from Premium Rush) or Jessica Chastain to see this film, because it really showcases their abilities to act with a sense of familiarity to normal human life.

A review for The Princess Bride will be up shortly, and sorry for the delay on this review! This past weekend was my 21st, so I was a little busy! Happy viewing!