For quite some time, I wanted to make a start to Michael Shannon's filmography and I heard that starting with Take Shelter is the perfect entrance and exposure to his acting. Now, I am truly convinced he is one of the great actors working today.
Michael Shannon plays a father and worker named Curtis who is constantly disturbed by apocalyptic visions of thunder and a tornado. Believing his family to be in danger from either the tornado and thunder or from himself, he attempts to create a shelter for his family as everyone around him believes him to be a madman.
The story is simple yet very effective around the fantastic characters created in this film. Director Jeff Nichols allows the story to meet the characters rather than the other way, creating some sympathetic characters especially Shannon's Curtis is brilliant portrayed as a desperate and deeply troubled man. Shannon gives perhaps the most intense performance of the year without ever going over the top and without ever acting out of character. In fact, apart from one scene which Shannon shines more so than in the rest of the film, he is incredibly quiet, giving a very realistic and convincing performance. Subtlety is the key with Shannon.
The supporting cast all do a fine job and Jessica Chastain gives a very strong performance as Curtis' wife, Samantha. Their relationship is greatly explored in the film, providing much of the heart of the film. I expected to be intrigued by the story but never did I expect to be emotionally invested in any of the characters. I was so invested that by the end of the film, I was in complete shock and awe as to what has happened and what I have witnessed.
The directing in the film by Jeff Nichols is absolutely wonderful, keeping an engaging and simplistic premise active for an entire 2 hours without ever having to resort to violence or any of the modern Hollywood scams. Intensity, mystery, emotion and danger are all powerful presences in the film thanks widely to a great script, fantastic directing and an amazing performance by Michael Shannon. The dream sequences presented in the film, where Curtis receives apocalyptic visions take it to another level of intensity and danger, as we feel more and more pity for Curtis.
Michael Shannon plays a father and worker named Curtis who is constantly disturbed by apocalyptic visions of thunder and a tornado. Believing his family to be in danger from either the tornado and thunder or from himself, he attempts to create a shelter for his family as everyone around him believes him to be a madman.
The story is simple yet very effective around the fantastic characters created in this film. Director Jeff Nichols allows the story to meet the characters rather than the other way, creating some sympathetic characters especially Shannon's Curtis is brilliant portrayed as a desperate and deeply troubled man. Shannon gives perhaps the most intense performance of the year without ever going over the top and without ever acting out of character. In fact, apart from one scene which Shannon shines more so than in the rest of the film, he is incredibly quiet, giving a very realistic and convincing performance. Subtlety is the key with Shannon.
The supporting cast all do a fine job and Jessica Chastain gives a very strong performance as Curtis' wife, Samantha. Their relationship is greatly explored in the film, providing much of the heart of the film. I expected to be intrigued by the story but never did I expect to be emotionally invested in any of the characters. I was so invested that by the end of the film, I was in complete shock and awe as to what has happened and what I have witnessed.
The directing in the film by Jeff Nichols is absolutely wonderful, keeping an engaging and simplistic premise active for an entire 2 hours without ever having to resort to violence or any of the modern Hollywood scams. Intensity, mystery, emotion and danger are all powerful presences in the film thanks widely to a great script, fantastic directing and an amazing performance by Michael Shannon. The dream sequences presented in the film, where Curtis receives apocalyptic visions take it to another level of intensity and danger, as we feel more and more pity for Curtis.