'Take Shelter'

'Take Shelter' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Writen and Directed By Jeff Nichols
Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham,
Kathy Baker, Katy Mixon

"Take Shelter" is a psychological thriller that sneaks up on you. It is pretty straight forward and simple and it builds slowly but after you walk out of the theatre you are shaken. As I am writing this review I can't shake the power of this haunting movie. The movie stars Chicago actor Michael Shannon and the city should be proud of him. He might play a lot of unstable and unsettling characters but he is one of the most intense actors working today. "Take Shelter" is a beautifully shot, acted and directed movie and announces a new major talent in writer, director Jeff Nichols.

"Take Shelter" is a movie that works on you slowly but it is successful in shaking us up by the end. A lot of people will complain that nothing happens in the first hour and a half but there really is a lot going on. Plus you will see two of the best and most effective performances of the year in Shannon and the wonderful Jessica Chastain. This movie is great at showing us a real life small town and it's humble, hard working and struggling people.

The focus is on married couple Curtis and Samantha who have a daughter Hannah who is deaf. Curtis is a foreman at a construction job and works with his best friend Dewart played by Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire). Curtis and Samantha are working on getting Hannah an operation and they struggle with bills and debt. Also making things difficult is the fact that Curtis is starting to get nightmares and premonitions of his dog attacking him and a tragic storm that may be coming. Curtis's mother was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Does this mean that Curtis is also afflicted with this same diagnosis or is he psychic.

The movie is effective for the fact that it develops the characters, gets us on their side and keeps us guessing. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain are incredible here at creating real people that we care for. Michael Shannon has become one of my favorite actors and he was my inspiration for my Snavely Awards after his neglected, powerful performance in "The Runaways". He gives a simmering performance of intensity but in the quiet, reflective scenes he is subtle and effective. Jessica Chastain has become a revelation this past year and she gives another stellar performance. Her work here at portraying a loving wife and mother who is being tested is perfection. "The Help", "Tree of Life" and now this movie make her the best actress of 2011 by a mile and she will now become a star.

In the end writer and director Jeff Nichols has made a near masterpiece here and on second viewing I will probably embrace it as one of my favorite movies of this or any other year. The movie is effective because the acting and mood set here sneaks up on us and pulls us in. We are always thinking at every moment if Curtis is really mentally incompetent or if he knows something no one else does. There is a moment late in the movie where Shannon as Curtis explodes in anger and it is extremely powerful. We are so compelled by the emotion and mood set up in the beginning that the anger jolts us.

I just love the look and feel of this movie and I love little things like the natural and beautiful performance by young Tova Stewart as Hannah. This is one of those movies that will get people talking after they leave the theatre much like "Tree of Life" earlier this year did. I think I like this movie even more than I did "Tree of Life". It is more powerful and haunting and I can't shake it from my memory hours after I have seen it. It has powerful performances, a story that subtly moves us and characters that have emotions that feel real. It gets us thinking and it has an ending that I think is perfect, powerful and haunting. The brave movie goer will remember that ending, what transpires before that ending and this family weeks after they walk out of the theatre.

P.S. I would love to see this movie a second time and if I do my 3 1/2 star rating might jump up to 4 stars like my review of "Drive". This is for sure one of the very best movies of 2011.