Take Shelter

After years of phoning-in his tiresome wild-eyed loon shtick, Michael Shannon finally delivers a performance of genuine depth and power at the centre of Jeff Nichols’ haunting drama. Shannon plays Curtis, a regular Joe in a small Ohio town who is troubled by increasingly horrifying dreams, becoming convinced a devastating storm is imminent. Aware of how irrational his behaviour is, but unable to ignore his instincts, Curtis begins sinking a fortune into the renovation of the old shelter in his yard, and in the process grows ever more isolated from his friends and young family (Jessica Chastain and Tova Stewart).

Nichols creates a palpable air of menace and near unbearable tension as Curtis slowly unravels – if or how this story will resolve itself is never signposted for the audience. With Shannon spectacular and Chastain improving her growing reputation with a sympathetic performance, the intimacy of this treatise on mental illness makes it truly heartbreaking. Ultimately, appreciation of the film comes down to how one takes the curveball of a final scene, but there’s no disputing that what precedes it is deeply unsettling and extremely well observed. [Chris Fyvie]