Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 20:04 Review: 'Take Shelter', a film by Jeff Nichols (****)
There is a key scene somewhere in the middle of Take Shelter, Jeff Nichol's impressive sophomore film, in which the premonitory dreams and apocalyptic visions which plague Curtis, the character played otherwise with arresting constraint by Michael Shannon, materialize in a full-fledged explosion. The paroxysm of the scene is all the more powerful because of the humble cosiness of the rural community dinner in which it takes place. When the storm of this truly disturbing sequence is over, there is no chance left for any calm. The director abruptly cuts to a close-up of Jessica Chastain's face, a shot which justifies on its own the award attention that this wonderful young actress has been gathering for the trillion films she was in last year. Her expression is revelatory of what words could never convey: the horrific realization of what really is going on there.
