Quick Overview

The looming presence of Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) was made for a role like Curtis, the haunted protagonist of Take Shelter. On paper, Curtis would appear to be a normal mid-American husband and father; a construction manager, he has a wife (Jessica Chastain) and a hearing-impaired daughter, and a nice piece of land in tornado country. But, of course, he can’t be entirely normal, because he’s played by Michael Shannon. So, after suffering nightmares that gradually turn into waking hallucinations, Curtis becomes convinced that a great disaster is coming. His behavior, and his insistence on building out the storm shelter in the backyard, suggests he is either visionary or going out of his mind. This film by Shotgun Stories director Jeff Nichols is all eerie buildup, a series of ominous signs or concerned conversations. Because Shannon is such a formidable and uneasy presence, some of this is intriguing for a while (and Tree of Life star Chastain contributes her strong instincts to the marital scenes), but somehow by the end the whole thing feels more portentous than insightful, like a lofty take on an M. Night Shyamalan project but without Shyamalan’s canny storytelling sense.

Main Features:

Actors: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Tova Stewart, Katy Mixon
Directors: Jeff Nichols
Writers: Jeff Nichols
Producers: Adam Wilkins, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Chris Perot, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Colin Strause
Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French
Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: February 14, 2012
Run Time: 120 minutes