The preview for this arthouse film drew me in at once; Ohio well-driller and family man Michael Shannon begins to see (and dream about) signs which may well point to a coming apocalypse.  It all ties in with weather, so he spends money he doesn’t really have to expand a storm shelter in his back yard, leading to complications with work, family and his own conscience.  Unfortunately, as in all too many cases, the preview was better than the film.

As played by Michael Shannon (is there anybody better at portraying people who may or may not be unbalanced?), the well-driller Curtis is a man of few words who thoughtfully considers every action he takes.  Complicating the story is the fact that his mother (Kathy Baker) has suffered from mental illness from the time he was ten, so he has to contemplate the notion that he, too, is schizophrenic.  This factor clouds the his mind with doubt, which works dramatically, but perhaps not thematically.  Jeff Nichols’ film depends on Curtis’ being so convinced of “the coming storm” that he defies rationality in the name of survival instincts.  In order for the audience to fully accompany him, I think the family history of mental illness could have been diminished or eliminated; wouldn’t the film be more effective if a traditionally “normal” character is suddenly beset by such visions?

Nichols’ film succeeds in chronicling Curtis’ slow descent into social ostracism, even as he tries to protect the people closest to him from whatever he senses is coming, and possibly himself.  There is one terrific confrontation scene that scares the pants off of everyone that witnesses it, where Curtis finally screams what is really on his mind.  And Jessica Chastain is solid as his wife, ever more unsure of her husband but willing to stand by his side as long as he is honest with her.  Their daughter (Tova Stewart) is deaf, which feels more distracting dramatically than meaningful, though it certainly paints her caring parents in a better light.

Ultimately Take Shelter is a motion picture that teases with a premise it cannot fulfill. My final criticisms are that the final scene fails to measure up visually with what it is supposed to represent, and that the chosen location is unsatisfying and maddeningly ironic.  In other words, I didn’t particularly care for the ending.  This could have been a quietly powerful work of apocalyptic vision; instead, it is an uneven journey through one man’s hallucinatory imagination.  It is disappointing rather than rewarding.  ✰ ✰ ½.  26 Oct. 2011.