I Love You, Redbox!* - Take Shelter

*though I hate when I occasionally have to wait in line for you.

I Love you, Redbox! is part of RAJ's ongoing series of film reviews. This is the initial installment.

The Apocalypse. Is such a cataclysmic event as the end of life as we know it here on Earth a distinct possibility? According to some it is an inevitable reality, though there seems to be some uncertainty as to the exact date (remember this guy?). 

If and when the Apocalypse does occur, how will it manifest itself? Will it be in the form of The Rapture, fulfilling biblical prophecy? Will strained relations between countries in the Middle East initiate worldwide nuclear war? Or will it be the gradual, cumulative effects of climate change due to ever increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (The Slopocalypse)? 


Should we make this entire post a series of questions? Huh? Should we?!

The idea of prophecy in relation to The Apocalypse is especially fascinating. Imagine having deeply tormenting but very tangible visions of severe and abnormal weather patterns, strange behavior by massive flocks of birds, and attacks on you and your family by faceless beings. Would you rationalize such visions away as stress-induced nightmares, or would you consider them as premonitions of a catastrophic event of global proportions? To believe the latter would be considered by many as a symptom of mental illness. But the visions are so vivid and clear as to be difficult to dismiss. Imagine the thankless dilemma this would pose for such an individual: If these vision are not prophecies of The Apocalypse, then there's a good chance I'm insane, but if they are prophecies, then I'm not insane but the world is going to end. 

The 2011 film Take Shelter chronicles just such a struggle endured by one rather unremarkable man. Michael Shannon plays Curtis, a man increasingly plagued by visions of menacing thunder storms that produce oily brown rain and dense masses of swarming birds, and even attacks by faceless, zombie-like creatures. Curtis is compelled by these visions to take precautionary measures to protect his family, and his efforts become fixated on expanding and renovating the old tornado shelter in their backyard. 

As Curtis becomes more and more obsessive in his efforts, he begins alienating his wife and young daughter, and repeatedly neglects his job responsibilities which result in his termination. Free of all work obligations, Curtis shifts his full attention to the tornado shelter, and drains his meager finances in the process. 

Curtis does not completely give in to his maddening visions, however. We learn that his mother is a paranoid schizophrenic, and Curtis actively seeks medical help in the form of both medication and counseling. This plot element serves to heighten the ambiguity in regard to whether Curtis's visions are prophecies or an alarming symptom of mental illness.

Shannon and writer/director Jim Nichols do an effective job of maintaining this ambiguity throughout the film, right up until the chilling resolution in the film's final scene. This is not the first film in which Shannon has played a man struggling with mental illness (see William Friedkin's 2006 film, Bug), and he proves adept in subtly conveying the psychological toll that Curtis's visions take upon him. He did seem to frequently rely on holding his face in his hands to indicate his great mental strife, which is an obvious indicator of his emotions but robs the viewer of Shannon's ability to express such feelings with his expressive face. But Shannon's rather stoic portrayal of Curtis serves to magnify the one scene in which his frustration with his mounting fear and paranoia come to a boil at a community Lions Club dinner. This scene, combined with Curtis's visions/nightmares and the final scene, ensure that this film will leave a lasting impression upon the viewer.


Take Shelter is a haunting film due to its powerful imagery and rather grim outlook on the fate of humanity. It is also masterful in its characterization of a common man who must cope with unrelenting threats to his own sanity, and to the way of life that he has worked so hard to build for himself and his family.