Vladimir Rakhmanin argues that this low-profile psychological thriller should have been headlining at the Academy Awards…
Vladimir Rakhmanin
Staff Writer
The population of the USA is beginning to grow restless. People are not as happy as they had been ten years ago – society is becoming increasingly divided, with movements like Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party representing both sides. This deep uneasiness has been reflected in many recent American films, such as No Country for Old Men, The Road and Winter’s Bone. These films adopt a dead-serious tone, with simple but never simplistic fables that are almost Biblical in their severity. This is also true of Take Shelter, a psychological thriller with a powerhouse performance from Michael Shannon.
The film concerns a man named Curtis, who seems to have everything in life – a loving family, a good home, a steady-paying job – but something is off. Curtis begins to have apocalyptic dreams (enhanced with CGI in a subtle, but effective way) of a massive storm coming his way. Once the visions become too intense to bear, he begins to renovate the old storm shelter in the backyard. Just in case. This leads to many dramatic conflicts between his family, his boss, and general members of the surrounding community.
The first noteworthy feature of the film is the colour scheme. Curtis’ neighbourhood is a contrast of greens, blues, and yellows – it looks positively idyllic, which makes the events that occur later in the film even more dramatic. The juxtaposition between the innocent and the sinister is very jarring, and works well in the context – it reminded me slightly of the Coen brothers’ fantastic A Serious Man, which used a colour scheme for roughly the same purposes.
The dreams that Curtis experiences are also well done, and are very surreal, bringing to mind the cult classic Jacob’s Ladder (1990), especially the bizarre characters that seem to be following the protagonist. What is especially interesting is how, as the film continues, we begin to find it increasingly difficult to distinguish the dreams from reality; the sharp cuts reminded me of Satoshi Kon’s anime masterpiece Perfect Blue in the ways that we were sharply brought back to real life from the weird apocalyptic hallucinations.
The soundtrack is effective, as well – moody and evocative, it helps to bringing a sense of dread throughout the film. It is very subtle, but when it does appear (mostly during the dreams), it heightens the tension drastically. By not having blaring orchestral tunes scream at dramatic points, the film takes on a quiet, foreboding, Biblical tone, made all the more powerful by Michael Shannon’s masterful performance. The fact that he was not mentioned even once at this year’s Academy Awards is an absolute travesty. A scene during which Shannon’s character loses control bubbles with prophetic energy, and is one of the best moments in the film.
Of course, the thing that will divide the audience is the ending. I will avoid spoilers, but there was a moment where I thought it would be appropriate for the film to end, right after a scene which is arguably the emotional climax of the plot. Instead, we get a very ambiguous ending that is open to interpretation. I personally thought it worked great in the context – other may not agree.
Take Shelter was marred by a virtually non-existant marketing campaign and a limited release – however, this is a powerful film with a captivating emotional message. Its recent release on DVD and BluRay means that it will finally get the attention it deserves, and I sincerely hope it will – this is one of the best films of last year.
