Fantastic Fest 2011: Take Shelter Review

It was interesting seeing Take Shelter right after Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, as the two are strikingly similar. Both use the end of the world as a metaphor for mental illness, both feature beautifully rendered dream sequences of the apocolypse, and both are incredible acting showcases.

Take Shelter stars Micheal Shannon as a blue collar husband and father, who just might be going insane. The film opens with one of his dreams, of which there are several peppered throughout the film. An ominous storm brews, oily rain falls, giant flocks of black birds swirl erratically in the air, and friends and loved ones are driven to madness and violence. These haunting scenes will stay with you much like they do with Shannon’s character. The dreams effect his mood, but when the visions creep into his waking hours is when things really go south.

Shannon becomes obsessed with fortifying his family’s storm shelter which puts a major strain on his relationship with his wife, played wonderfully by Tree of Life’s Jessica Chastain. The shelter is an expense that they can’t afford. The current economic climate plays a big part in the film. The camera looms as the price rises on the as pump, job security is called into question, people pinch pennies at a flea market. It is never overt, but financial stress looms over the picture like the apocolyptic storm in Shannon’s dreams.

Despite his own doubts, his mother developed Paranoid Schizophrenia when she was his age, Shannon is compelled to continue. What if the dreams are actually visions? What if the storm comes and he isn’t ready? This confusion and uncertainty burns in Shannon’s eyes. It is a reserved performance, but an intense one. The entire film is an excersize in building tension, and when it is finally released it is as terrifying as it is cathartic.

Take Shelter is a captivating and heartbreaking character study up until the final scene.The scene itself is incredible, but it spins the movie on its head and leaves things on an ambiguous note. I’m still trying to come to terms with it. There is nothing wrong with ambiguous endings, but I feel like this one may betray the more interesting aspects of the film that precedes it.

Despite that, Take Shelter is a must-see. I would be shocked if it didn’t show up around awards season.