It is a performances centric movie

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I probably can't add much more than other people has already. Great acting, great cinematography, and great pretty much everything.

Take Shelter is a story of a schizophrenic man who thinks a big tornado is coming. He's obsessed with building an unnecessary storm shelter. He blows his family's money, loses his job, estranges his wife, steals his boss's construction equipment, and becomes the laughing stock of the town...all because of his mental disease. You wait two hours for the payoff: Surely you know that a real storm will occur, and he was right all along and the others were all wrong. Uh, no. As you wait and wait for the big payoff, you slowly realize that it ain't gonna happen. The big storm he feared turns out to be a mild windy rain shower. All the people who doubted him and laughed at him were right. He was wrong. What a waste of two hours. No payoff. No changes (there's no indication that he changed his mind at the end or that he cured his schizophrenia...instead, we see him at the end just as he was at the beginning. An epic waste of time.

This movie was a boring one, despite the fact that it was well done. The action moves at a snail pace and it involves very bland characters, and if it wasn't for the deaf daughter would have been even worse. The movie is not saved despite its decent acting, very good cinematography and a good dose of realism. As an art flick it may have pleased some but personally I found it extremely unsatisfying and I only watched it to the end because I was curios how will happen, which in one word would be: disappointing. It made me strongly feel that I wasted 2 hours of my time. I would admit, though, that I don't seek for art in a movie, I seek entertainment, excitement, an original idea, some remarkable achievements. Nothing of such and when it comes to the idea, to me it seemed and redoux and modern version of Noah story. I was fooled into watching by the praise ad overrating of this movie.

Browsing through the local Family Video store yesterday, this was on the rack as a two for a dollar rental special. Being a fan of Michael Shannon and Boardwalk Empire, it only makes sense that I rent this immediately. I mean, it was only fifty cents, so what did I have to lose. Anyway, on to the review.The premise is simple: a working-class family man has dreams of an oncoming apocalypse, and this leads to increasingly erratic behavior and has our hero questioning his own sanity. It's essentially a re-telling of Noah's Ark with an element of mental illness thrown in. The nightmare sequences are beautifully filmed, and made better by Shannon's intense acting style. Jessica Chastain plays the wife, a character type that almost seems to be a typecast for her these days (see A Most Violent Year or Mama for further evidence), and she does her job well. Shea Whigham and Katy Mixon are also in the film, but they are criminally underused. The rest of the cast does their jobs well.The problem with the film is that it is way too long. I'm not the type to complain about running times, but there is one scene towards the end that just drags on forever. In fact, the whole middle section of the film just drags. The acting is great, but nothing really happens in these scenes. I'm from the Midwest, and it is quite boring, but the scenery alone in the film proves that point. I don't want a completely accurate depiction of the region I grew up in. A good half-hour could have been cut out of the film, and it would have been just as satisfying. Another gripe I have is the fact that some of the special effects during the movie are extremely distracting and fake looking. I realize that the budget was limited, but come on.Overall, this film is worth seeing just for Michael Shannon's performance alone. Take Shelter is long. Too long. So long I felt tempted to fast forward one of the final scenes. I can sit through Casino without any problems, so the issue is with the pacing of the film itself. If you don't mind an inflated middle half, Take Shelter is a diamond in the rough.