Home  •  About  •  Contact  •  Twitter  •  Google+  •  Facebook  •  Tumblr  •  Youtube  •  RSS Feed
Take Shelter

Take Shelter

By Patrick Samuel • December 5th, 2013
Static Mass Rating: 5/5
TAKE SHELTER (Blu-ray)
The Works

Release date: March 19th, 2012
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 120 minutes

Writer and director: Jeff Nichols
Composer: David Wingo

Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart

I heard the roar of thunder and looked up at the sky to see a claw of lightning tear across it a few seconds later. The smell of rain hung densely in the air and for a moment I wondered if the clouds themselves were about to swoop down and scoop me up in their ash coloured arms.

I was 7 years old and about to witness a cyclone that would bear down on our small island with all its might.

Take Shelter

Now at the age 33 I’m as anxious as ever that we’re about to witness changes unlike anything our modern age has ever known, both geological and economic.

Take Shelter is a film that was born out of such anxiety; that we have everything to lose. Written by Jeff Nichols as we were entering the 2008 Financial Crisis, it was released at a time when financial experts were trying to warn us that we were on the brink of not just another crisis but a complete and total collapse. What kind of fears does this spark in us?

For those who sense something is on the way, our natural instinct is to protect our loved ones and do everything we can to ensure their survival, should the worst happen. For Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon), a working class man with a loving family, his fears manifest in a series of nightmares warning that a terrible storm is on its way.

Take Shelter

These nightmares become so intense that he wakes to find he’s wet the bed but he also begins to worry that what he’s experiencing could also be the early symptoms of schizophrenia, passed onto him by his mother. Real or imagined, as he tries to get help he continues to follow his instincts to protect his family by building an underground storm shelter. It’s fully equipped with running water, electricity, gas masks and an oxygen tank for his young daughter, Hannah (Tova Stewart), who is deaf.

Nichols has tapped into something palpable here and in doing so he’s made a film that highlights many of the problems in our crumbling society, not just with its economic state but also the failures in mental healthcare and this is all against the backdrop of an impending disaster, or at least one that’s real enough for Curtis to act on.

Take Shelter

For his wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain), that’s a lot to cope with. At first she’s unaware of Curtis’ nightmares, his difficulties at work and with people in the community but as soon as he shares this with her, as hard as it is, she’s willing to listen and to support him. They face losing his health insurance cover which pays for Hannah’s medical bills but she’s desperate to get both of them whatever help they need. Nichols makes this a very personal story about how an ordinary family deals with problems which any of us can face. Take Shelter is by no means an off-the-shelf apocalypse movie, but in saying that, it is one about an unfolding disaster, inside and out.

Like Curtis, I do feel huge changes are coming. I think deep down everyone senses it; the mood of souls passing each other on the streets reek of it. They can’t quite put their finger on what they’re feeling exactly but for those of a sensitive disposition they can smell it, sense it and see it. Is this what it was like before previous civilisations on Earth fell? Is this what the Mayans felt? In the time leading up to the destruction of Mu and Atlantis, were there those like Curtis who were in tune with those frequencies to such a level they saw it too and like Cassandra, who foresaw the destruction of Troy, were helpless to stop it?

I think Take Shelter is an important film, but its importance will only be grasped decades from now, along with movies such as Melancholia, Another Earth (2011) and Tree of Life (2011). They will only be understood and appreciated when humanity looks back on a time when its artists, philosophers, storytellers and filmmakers were trying to tell us of changes coming and to listen, see and feel it coming.

Take Shelter

BACK TO TOP
Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

© 2022 STATIC MASS EMPORIUM . All Rights Reserved. Powered by METATEMPUS | creative.timeless.personal.   |   DISCLAIMER, TERMS & CONDITIONS

HOME | ABOUT | CONTACT | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | FACEBOOK | TUMBLR | YOUTUBE | RSS FEED

CINEMA REVIEWS | BLU-RAY & DVD | THE EMPORIUM | DOCUMENTARIES | WORLD CINEMA | CULT MOVIES | INDIAN CINEMA | EARLY CINEMA

MOVIE CLASSICS | DECONSTRUCTING CINEMA | SOUNDTRACKS | INTERVIEWS | THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR | JAPANESE CINEMA