Take Shelter (2011)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  Take Shelter creatively blends biblical analogies with schizophrenia for dramatic effect. This was a very interesting premise, and a film that I've had my eye on for quite some time. The husband to a loving family starts experiencing visions of an apocalyptic storm approaching. Are these visions a warning or is his hereditary mental illness creeping up on him? Regardless, he decides to build a storm shelter for his family. Unremarkably it's very reminiscent to "Noah's Ark", but rather remarkably it's twisted to appear more current with psychological traits embedded within. The combination works, although at times the narrative is unfocused and paced inconsistently, yet it's a riveting and intriguing premise. Not only do we witness the mental breakdown of a man, but also the family troubles they go through and how together they are able to overcome these obstacles as a unit. In lieu of all the ups and downs family life can bring, what matters is the cohesion that is created by love. Chastain beautifully portrays this as a wife who sticks by her husband despite what others think. Shannon, well, one of his best performances as I'm sure everyone will tell you. One particular scene where he warns the community of an encroaching storm, where he seamlessly flips a table, really does showcase his acting talents. The chemistry between them was spiky, where one action could lead to an entire breakdown, but deep down they are there for each other. Rather poignant actually. My problem lies with Nichols' script, it was too cumbersome. There was no personality injected into anyone. On top of that, the story was unfocussed in an attempt to balance the main plot with subplots. Wasn't a fan of the final five minutes, would've been better to remove that entirely. However the conceptual blend between biblical and psychological metaphors proved to be a winning formula, and one that shows off some excellent acting from its lead stars.

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