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Take Shelter-Potential Spoilers
Every Hall of Fame that I have participated in has brought me a new favorite that I can watch over and over again. From Late Spring to After Hours to Ed Wood to Sideways. And now we have Take Shelter. Take Shelter is an incredible moving force full of two very powerful performances. The first is by the male lead, Michael Shannon, who seems to portray schizophrenia to a T. Every scene he is in is memorable and there may be no scene more powerful this decade than his Lions Club scene shouting there is a storm coming. I can't relate to the character itself at all, but I could feel what he is going through and he made it feel very real. Also there was Jessica Chastain who also had an astounding performance. I love how she is always by his side and even though he has nearly tore their family apart with his condition she is there to forgive him. I can't think off of the top of my head a better female performance this decade. What was most impressive to me is how well the two worked in the scenes in which they were together. The problems and the tension and struggle felt very real.
The film was shot beautifully. When we see the storm clouds it is almost majestic looking. The swarm of bird scenes are also very beautifully shot. And the direction here by Jeff Nichols is superb. A lot of people will criticize the ending, but for me it was one of the strong points of the film in that it doesn't give you a direct answer to what is happening. Is it a literal storm? Is it a metaphor? Is it a dream? You can make a case for any of the three options and it still works as a great ending for me. I'm surprised that others don't feel the same way. I need to see some other Nochols work after seeing this one.
Overall, one of the strongest films of this decade. I feel like I'm under rating it a bit but it is certain to go up with another watch I would assume. After 10 films I can say this will be a high threat on my list.
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Every Hall of Fame that I have participated in has brought me a new favorite that I can watch over and over again. From Late Spring to After Hours to Ed Wood to Sideways. And now we have Take Shelter. Take Shelter is an incredible moving force full of two very powerful performances. The first is by the male lead, Michael Shannon, who seems to portray schizophrenia to a T. Every scene he is in is memorable and there may be no scene more powerful this decade than his Lions Club scene shouting there is a storm coming. I can't relate to the character itself at all, but I could feel what he is going through and he made it feel very real. Also there was Jessica Chastain who also had an astounding performance. I love how she is always by his side and even though he has nearly tore their family apart with his condition she is there to forgive him. I can't think off of the top of my head a better female performance this decade. What was most impressive to me is how well the two worked in the scenes in which they were together. The problems and the tension and struggle felt very real.
The film was shot beautifully. When we see the storm clouds it is almost majestic looking. The swarm of bird scenes are also very beautifully shot. And the direction here by Jeff Nichols is superb. A lot of people will criticize the ending, but for me it was one of the strong points of the film in that it doesn't give you a direct answer to what is happening. Is it a literal storm? Is it a metaphor? Is it a dream? You can make a case for any of the three options and it still works as a great ending for me. I'm surprised that others don't feel the same way. I need to see some other Nochols work after seeing this one.
Overall, one of the strongest films of this decade. I feel like I'm under rating it a bit but it is certain to go up with another watch I would assume. After 10 films I can say this will be a high threat on my list.
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