Take Shelter

Take Shelter

I had no intention of seeing this film. I was urged by a member of my exercise class and I promised to go. Yes, it is a good film. I was stressed throughout never knowing what was going to happen. I wanted to take shelter myself many times throughout the film because of the ongoing tension.
There is a lot of rain and tremendous storms. They are symbolic of the stress and turmoil within Curtis’s head.
At first we meet an idyllic family. The mother and father are deeply in love. Their young daughter cannot hear but they treasure her and spend time with her. They are saving for a cochlear transplant.
Strange things begin to happen to the father. They are startling events and often are related to a storm. At first I wasn’t sure what was real and what was imagined. The father begins to think he is mentally ill just like his mother. His symptoms become worse. He has terrible dreams and wakes up feeling ill from the terror.
He seeks medical help. It begins to wear on his usually understanding wife. He loses his friends, his job and the town’s people turn on him.
Curtis fears a great tornado is going to hit the area and he builds at great cost (that he can ill afford) a deep tornado shelter. He stocks it with can goods and buys gas masks for the family.
I found his nightmares unsettling and frightening. . I was empathetic with his wife hoping she would hang onto this relationship that was going sour very quickly.
The actors are excellent in their roles. The cinematography is superb and helps to paint a picture of a tranquil landscape in opposition with the whirling turmoil inside the main character.