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We’ve all had those dreams that seem just a little too real. We wake up in the morning, trying to shake off the memories, trying to remind ourselves that it was just a dream. But what happens if the dreams keep coming—if, after a while, they’re so real, it’s hard to tell if they’re just dreams…or a vision of a horrible future?
That’s the case for Take Shelter’s Curtis (Michael Shannon), a hard-working husband and father who begins having troubling dreams of a storm. In his visions, the storm clouds move in, birds begin to swarm, and a heavy, golden rain falls from the sky. People begin to lose control—and even his beloved dog attacks him.
Considering his mother’s history of schizophrenia, Curtis begins to fear that he’s spiraling into mental illness. At the same time, though, he also fears for his family’s safety, so he decides to expand the abandoned old storm shelter in their yard.
A simple yet haunting film, Take Shelter follows Curtis and his family as they try to understand and deal with his suddenly erratic (and some might say crazy) behavior. Just as you might struggle to grab hold of reality on those mornings when you wake from a dream that felt a little too real, Curtis struggles to shake off the lifelike visions. Some of them cause him physical pain, while others happen in broad daylight—and, as they get more frequent and more intense, it becomes harder and harder to ignore them. At the same time, they also build a quiet suspense that’s filled with a kind of psychological horror. Little by little, viewers will experience both a growing feeling of dread and a morbid curiosity, wondering (right along with Curtis) whether each new vision is a sign of mounting illness or a premonition.
Despite the character’s horrifying inner turmoil, though, the film is strangely serene. Its rural Ohio setting, with its vast, open fields, gives it a kind of warm, laid-back tone—which makes the storm scenes all the more shocking in comparison.
During those quiet, peaceful, real-life moments, though, it’s the noteworthy performances that carry the film—and hold the audience’s attention. Shannon’s is an agonizing performance, skillfully portraying the anguish of a man who’s fully aware of his own inability to distinguish dreams from reality. He fears for his family in more ways than one—after all, neither outcome is a good one for Curtis and his family. And as his concerns about his own mental health increase, he chooses to suffer in silence. Meanwhile, breakout star Jessica Chastain also stands out as Curtis’s conflicted wife, Sam, who eventually finds the strength to stand up and take charge, to make sure that the family is taken care of.
It isn’t a particularly action-packed or breathtaking drama—and its constant ambiguity may be frustrating for some viewers. But Take Shelter is a quietly, thoughtfully gripping drama—the kind that’s worth checking out on an otherwise peaceful Sunday afternoon.
