Take Shelter [Blu-ray]

If you've enjoyed Boardwalk Empire you might for that reason alone enjoy watching two of the actors doing something completely different, acting in a modern day drama which has vivid and realistic characters and is a sort of parable of our times. Yes, some will find it very slow going. Some critics describe the entire film as a shaggy dog story, a tale which leads nowhere in particular. The ending certainly is thought provoking. The DVD has some worthwhile extras which give more of a clue about the intention of the writer/director. We live in an age where many of us are conscious of a feeling of impending doom and disaster - some of us focus on global warming, others on unemployment or businesses going bust, others on terrorism. Or even just the normal fear of disease and death. The protagonist of the film has a premonition of imminent disaster, of a terrible storm. He chooses to share this premonition only with his family because they are his responsibility, not with the world at large. Interestingly his daughter is deaf. Some would say the plot would have made just as much sense if she hadn't been deaf. But her deafness is, I think, making a point about how dependent we are on our physical senses and cannot rely on the senses of others to help us interpret the world. Whether the premonition is objectively true or a symptom of mental illness is one of the main themes of the film, as is the way that by worrying about the future we sometimes make the present more uncomfortable for ourselves and for everyone around us. For others the main theme might be whether your love for your spouse can survive under this sort of stress and whether you should be loyal at all costs. Those who are superstitious and who believe in "second sight" and the ability to forecast the future will probably see the film slightly differently from the way I see it. I think instead one can consider whether the ability to foresee disaster is a blessing or a curse and whether it would be better to be one of the unknowing herd than one of the enlightened. The director, I think, explores such themes without reaching any firm conclusion and leaves the thinking to the audience. I think this is a thoughtful film that would repay watching again and again.It's a pity that one cannot really discuss the ending properly without being accused of spoiling the film for others. Many will read these reviews after, rather than before, watching the film. Perhaps ultimately your ability to foresee the future might not help you avoid disaster. Perhaps relying on the expertise of the medical profession for advice is unwise. Perhaps an ability to see what others cannot see is a form of mental illness regardless of whether your prophecy comes true. There are probably many more ways of interpreting the message of this film, if indeed it has a clear message in its impressive but ambiguous ending.

It must always be very difficult (/risky?) for a film director (and maybe even more so for a 33-year old relatively inexperienced one) to devise a film whose (critical) success is likely to depend on a single central acting performance, but in his 2011 film Jeff Nichols' trust in (thus far, Boardwalk Empire aside, bit player?) Michael Shannon certainly pays dividends (continuing the relationship that they established in Nichols' first film Shotgun Stories). Quite honestly, apocalyptic Hollywood 'thrillers' are generally not my favoured genre, and while Take Shelter is certainly not flawless and is probably around 20 minutes or so too long, its generally subtle, brooding (and, at times, ambiguous) treatment of the subject, coupled with Shannon's outstanding (again, largely underplayed) performance, tempt me into five star territory.Of course, Nichols' film of increasing paranoia/mental breakdown affecting happily married ('You've got a good life') oil worker Curtis LaForche (Shannon) can otherwise be read as a metaphor for a whole range of social ills and potential threats (terrorism, nuclear war, climate change, maybe even China!), as well as making a number of pertinent points around the US approach to the treatment of mental health (even with private insurance those bills can mount up), but, at its heart, Take Shelter is also a tale of family loyalty, trust and love. As LaForche's increasingly worried wife Samantha, Jennifer Chastain does a fine job as her character's tolerance, frustration and love is tested to the limits ('I need to do something normal') by her spouse's increasingly erratic behaviour - his increasingly troublesome dreams and visions of impending doom convincing him of the need to convert his existing underground 'storm shelter' into something much more robust.For me, Nichols strikes just about the right balance between dream and reality as Curtis' visions (premonitions?) take in brown oily rain, storm clouds with a human (godly?) face, swirling flocks of birds (eventually falling dead to the ground) and imagined threats to wife and deaf young daughter (causing him to offload his dog to his brother). He also skilfully depicts the effects of his central protagonist's behaviour on the local small-town, close-knit community, as other wives begin to look askance at Samantha and LaForche's job becomes increasingly untenable - culminating in a brilliant climactic 'showdown' scene in the local community centre restaurant. Similarly, he also includes an excellent two-stage concluding denouement to his compelling tale.One is, however, always drawn back to Shannon's performance - he is, after all, hardly off the screen during the film's two hour duration. It is a performance of great subtlety, as Curtis' initially reserved and measured approach to things turns increasingly into bouts of brooding cogitation, zombie-like day-dreaming of more significant matters and eventually outward signs of agitation. At his most reserved and deliberate, Shannon here frequently reminds me of Henry Fonda (even down to his vocal intonation), and you can't get a much higher plaudit than that.Certainly an actor and, in Nichols, a film-maker to watch out for.