Take ShelterThe chemistry among the lead characters; especially the relationship between Michael Shannon and Tova Stewart who plays her daughter, communicates in all levels with the audience through its subtle tone that it stays true to, till the last frame. The writing is strong and powerful and is aware of its character's range and properties that it uses it wisely and projects the best possible outcome at its most intense dramatic scene that stays with the audience even after leaving the screen. It is short on technical aspects like sound department, although it is shot beautifully with amazing camera work and perfect editing. Jeff Nichols; the writer-director, surpasses its thought-provoking script through his brilliant execution skills which speaks volume in here. The performance objective is satisfied utterly by the brilliant cast like Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain and a delightful young talented actress named Tova Stewart. Despite of its grounded nature script, there are few fictionalized or fantasized sequences installed so perfectly that it leaves the audience in the awe of it. Take Shelter is overprotective and immensely secured of its character's perspective that helps fuel this character driven feature into reaching a far fetched idea.

This was a very interesting premise, and a film that I've had my eye on for quite some time. The husband to a loving family starts experiencing visions of an apocalyptic storm approaching. Are these visions a warning or is his hereditary mental illness creeping up on him? Regardless, he decides to build a storm shelter for his family. Unremarkably it's very reminiscent to "Noah's Ark", but rather remarkably it's twisted to appear more current with psychological traits embedded within. The combination works, although at times the narrative is unfocused and paced inconsistently, yet it's a riveting and intriguing premise. Not only do we witness the mental breakdown of a man, but also the family troubles they go through and how together they are able to overcome these obstacles as a unit. In lieu of all the ups and downs family life can bring, what matters is the cohesion that is created by love. Chastain beautifully portrays this as a wife who sticks by her husband despite what others think. Shannon, well, one of his best performances as I'm sure everyone will tell you. One particular scene where he warns the community of an encroaching storm, where he seamlessly flips a table, really does showcase his acting talents. The chemistry between them was spiky, where one action could lead to an entire breakdown, but deep down they are there for each other. Rather poignant actually. My problem lies with Nichols' script, it was too cumbersome. There was no personality injected into anyone. On top of that, the story was unfocussed in an attempt to balance the main plot with subplots. Wasn't a fan of the final five minutes, would've been better to remove that entirely. However the conceptual blend between biblical and psychological metaphors proved to be a winning formula, and one that shows off some excellent acting from its lead stars.

First, "the good news." It has a great cast, headed by an always understated Michael Shannon, utterly wasted in this monumental mistake of a movie. But by what supernatural event it managed to even recoup its production costs back is a miracle of Biblical proportions. Now, for "the bad news." I have always known that foreign films progress much more slowly than American films, taking their time and gradually building to a climax, such as the case in this epic loser. This entire movie was about as interesting as watching weeds grow, nothing personal against weeds. The ONLY thing that kept me in the room was hoping for a big "pay off," a climax that NEVER CAME. Instead, it was a droll, completely uninteresting, boring, fatally clichéd, anti-climatic, uttering moronic ending with all the inventiveness and creativity of week old, moldy bread, nothing personal against moldy bread. The only thing WORSE than this replacement for heavy duty sleep medication, were the over the top reviews that some brain dead imbeciles and major league psychopaths gave this pile of junk. Could we have possibly been watching the same movie?? The only thing I want to do after subjecting myself to this pitiful excuse for "entertainment," is to sue the producers who made this horrendous turkey for the two lost hours of my life back.

Driven by exceptional performance from Michael Shannon and ably supported by Jessica Chastain....this is a psychological thriller but at its heart its a character study which is only possible because of the subtle direction of Jeff Nichols.Its a slow burner...but by every minute that goes...we are still undecided regarding the sanity of the lead character...thats what keeps us hooked until the very end....and coming to the ending...boy..what an ending it is...the conclusion is satisfying for everyone...and one can look at it in two ways..sorry no spoilers...Background score thats perfect elevates the movie further....In my opinion, any movie that leaves you speechless during the movie...and makes you start thinking about it and discuss it after the credits roll...is a movie well made...and ultimately that is what we are after " A CONNECT" with the movie...MUST WATCH...