'Take Shelter' is a part horror, part psychological drama starring the always excellent Michael Shannon, as an Ohio construction worker who has a history of mental illness in his family, and is now plagued by disturbing visions himself. The question arises whether these visions are portents of things to come or merely the hallucinations of a man gradually experiencing a complete mental breakdown. The entire film is dependent on the big 'payoff' at the end, which turns out to be intentionally ambiguous according to writer/director Jeff Nichols, and has sparked a great deal of controversy over the internet, as to how to interpret such an ambiguous denouement.
Nichols presents his story more as a parable than a drama about real life people. Most of the characters are referred to by first names only, such as Michael Shannon's 'Curtis' and his wife 'Samantha' (also well-played by Jessica Chastain). Curtis is sort of an everyman, distinguished only by the fact that his daughter, Hannah, is deaf, and that his mother is a schizophrenic, now living in an assisted living facility. Everyone in Nichols' rural Ohio community, seems to be overly grim and lacking any kind of sense of humor. What's more, there are few discussions by any of the characters that would ground them in any particular place and time.
A good part of the film is taken up with depicting all of the alarming visions Curtis is experiencing. The visions run the gamut from Curtis being attacked by his dog, zombie-like people attempting to break into his house and his car while he's driving with his daughter, as well as a giant flock of birds that seemingly hone in on Curtis as a target.
Curtis becomes convinced that the visions he experiences, are real, and as a result decides to build a shelter to protect his family from an oncoming apocalyptic storm. His co-worker buddy, Dewart, decides to help him as they borrow their company's heavy digging machinery without authorization and use it to construct the shelter. It's Dewart's devotion to Curtis that causes him to use poor judgment in allowing Curtis to use the machinery without permission. I found Dewart's capitulation to Curtis' request, still a bit too easy as of course such an action could place both their jobs in jeopardy. As it turns out, that's exactly what happens: Curtis is fired and Dewart is suspended for two weeks.
For those who were satisfied with the machinations of Nichols' grim characters for most of the film, I can only say that everyone's concept of suspense is different. My feeling was that by the end of the film, the payoff had to be pretty darn good, since the events leading up to it were markedly slow-going, a bit repetitious and not all that absorbing. Nevertheless, I will concede that the ambiguity of the film's ending is food for thought—although ultimately, not as profound as many would like to believe.
The film's ending can be interpreted in two distinct ways. The first interpretation is that Curtis' visions were real and his warnings to his community about an impending apocalypse, fell on deaf ears. The storm can be seen as the ultimate result of global warming, with Nichols criticizing those unconcerned about environmental disaster preparedness as well as a general critique on those who rely solely on rationalism as a guide through life. Ironically (with Interpretation #1), it's Samantha, Curtis' well-meaning, 'rational' wife, who gets the shock of her life when she looks out toward the horizon at the beach and sees the 'apocalypse' bearing down on her and her family. Some internet posters argue that since the storm is seen in the reflection of the beach house window (and not from Curtis' point of view which we had always seen before), this is proof that the storm is meant to be real. Interpretation #1 believers hold that when Curtis calls out to Sam at the end, and she responds, "Ok", that's her frozen in fear, acknowledging that she was wrong and Curtis was right all along.
Interpretation #2 holds that the climax is another one of Curtis' hallucinations, albeit more benign and optimistic than those that have come before. In this interpretation, the family wouldn't have taken this trip since Curtis had lost his job and they could not afford it (Interpretation #1 believers point out that Samantha had extra money stashed away and would have used it to make the trip, as part of Curtis' ongoing rehabilitation). When Sam says "okay", she's accepting Curtis' continuing mental illness but is glad that the family is still together. The final scene is in contrast to an earlier one of Curtis' hallucinations, where he perceives his wife as hostile, on the verge of grabbing a knife and perhaps attacking him. Instead of Curtis as doomed seer, he's merely a victim of mental illness, whose wife has made the commitment to stay and support him as he tries to recover.
I believe that writer/director Nichols threw in the 'Twilight Zone ending' (where Curtis' prophecy is realized), by directing Jessica Chastain to display a look of dread as she stares out at the impending storm. But overall, if one looks at the nature of Curtis' hallucinations (which include zombie-like creatures), I'm in the camp of Interpretation #2, which believes that Curtis is mentally ill.
Most of 'Take Shelter', with its generic characters and slow-moving plot, feels derivative. Only the clever, ambiguous ending, which has sparked endless discussion, is enough to save it from total mediocrity. Nonetheless, my feeling is that this probably could have worked better as a one hour, Twilight Zone-like episode, than a full-length feature.
Nichols presents his story more as a parable than a drama about real life people. Most of the characters are referred to by first names only, such as Michael Shannon's 'Curtis' and his wife 'Samantha' (also well-played by Jessica Chastain). Curtis is sort of an everyman, distinguished only by the fact that his daughter, Hannah, is deaf, and that his mother is a schizophrenic, now living in an assisted living facility. Everyone in Nichols' rural Ohio community, seems to be overly grim and lacking any kind of sense of humor. What's more, there are few discussions by any of the characters that would ground them in any particular place and time.
A good part of the film is taken up with depicting all of the alarming visions Curtis is experiencing. The visions run the gamut from Curtis being attacked by his dog, zombie-like people attempting to break into his house and his car while he's driving with his daughter, as well as a giant flock of birds that seemingly hone in on Curtis as a target.
Curtis becomes convinced that the visions he experiences, are real, and as a result decides to build a shelter to protect his family from an oncoming apocalyptic storm. His co-worker buddy, Dewart, decides to help him as they borrow their company's heavy digging machinery without authorization and use it to construct the shelter. It's Dewart's devotion to Curtis that causes him to use poor judgment in allowing Curtis to use the machinery without permission. I found Dewart's capitulation to Curtis' request, still a bit too easy as of course such an action could place both their jobs in jeopardy. As it turns out, that's exactly what happens: Curtis is fired and Dewart is suspended for two weeks.
For those who were satisfied with the machinations of Nichols' grim characters for most of the film, I can only say that everyone's concept of suspense is different. My feeling was that by the end of the film, the payoff had to be pretty darn good, since the events leading up to it were markedly slow-going, a bit repetitious and not all that absorbing. Nevertheless, I will concede that the ambiguity of the film's ending is food for thought—although ultimately, not as profound as many would like to believe.
The film's ending can be interpreted in two distinct ways. The first interpretation is that Curtis' visions were real and his warnings to his community about an impending apocalypse, fell on deaf ears. The storm can be seen as the ultimate result of global warming, with Nichols criticizing those unconcerned about environmental disaster preparedness as well as a general critique on those who rely solely on rationalism as a guide through life. Ironically (with Interpretation #1), it's Samantha, Curtis' well-meaning, 'rational' wife, who gets the shock of her life when she looks out toward the horizon at the beach and sees the 'apocalypse' bearing down on her and her family. Some internet posters argue that since the storm is seen in the reflection of the beach house window (and not from Curtis' point of view which we had always seen before), this is proof that the storm is meant to be real. Interpretation #1 believers hold that when Curtis calls out to Sam at the end, and she responds, "Ok", that's her frozen in fear, acknowledging that she was wrong and Curtis was right all along.
Interpretation #2 holds that the climax is another one of Curtis' hallucinations, albeit more benign and optimistic than those that have come before. In this interpretation, the family wouldn't have taken this trip since Curtis had lost his job and they could not afford it (Interpretation #1 believers point out that Samantha had extra money stashed away and would have used it to make the trip, as part of Curtis' ongoing rehabilitation). When Sam says "okay", she's accepting Curtis' continuing mental illness but is glad that the family is still together. The final scene is in contrast to an earlier one of Curtis' hallucinations, where he perceives his wife as hostile, on the verge of grabbing a knife and perhaps attacking him. Instead of Curtis as doomed seer, he's merely a victim of mental illness, whose wife has made the commitment to stay and support him as he tries to recover.
I believe that writer/director Nichols threw in the 'Twilight Zone ending' (where Curtis' prophecy is realized), by directing Jessica Chastain to display a look of dread as she stares out at the impending storm. But overall, if one looks at the nature of Curtis' hallucinations (which include zombie-like creatures), I'm in the camp of Interpretation #2, which believes that Curtis is mentally ill.
Most of 'Take Shelter', with its generic characters and slow-moving plot, feels derivative. Only the clever, ambiguous ending, which has sparked endless discussion, is enough to save it from total mediocrity. Nonetheless, my feeling is that this probably could have worked better as a one hour, Twilight Zone-like episode, than a full-length feature.