What do you need to have a good and happy life? Is your life about materialism, social security or having a loving family? All these topics are generally mentioned in a must-see drama-thriller from 2011 called Take Shelter. Directed by Jeff Nichols, the independent 33-year old film creator who directed only three movies so far (the well-received Shotgun stories in 2007 and Cannes-award nominated movie Mud), really reflects the American life of a common citizen in both social and psychological manner.

Curtis LaForche(played by great Michael Shannon) has a good life, according to his friend and fellow workerDewart who also works at the construction company. And Curtis truly does have a good life at first: a stable job, his own home and no loans. His wife Samantha (played by Jessica Chastain, who became recognized in the her latest roles in The Help and Zero Dark Thirty) works part-time selling her own bedding materials.

They also have a daughter who is deaf and requires a series of medical treatments. Everything is great until one night Curtis begins to have apocalyptic dreams of a storm coming to wreck his home and his life so he decides to take a big home improvement loan to fix his storm shelter in the backyard. This causes trouble with his wife and with his boss, resulting in him getting fired and his friend Dewart getting suspended. Having a history of schizophrenia in his family (his mother was locked in an institution about the same age he is right now) he goes to search for help from the local counselor.
Now, we have seen a lot of films that declare mental illness as an issue but Take Shelter easily outmatches most of them. The reason for this lies in the fact that during the entire film you are not really sure whether Curtis is crazy or not. Unlike the delusions of many crazy characters in psychological dramas, Curtis knows he has a mental disorder but is at the same time convinced that his visions are not illusion. That is proven right after his wife wakes him up when the storm actually begins during the night.

They escape to the shelter but after the storm you can clearly see the true meaning of the shelter.He built it for himself, to protect his family from himself and not from the storm. The most intense scene in the movie is, when Samantha tells him that the storm is over and he should let it go. The way Michael Shannon portrayed his role is astonishing as he opens the door of the shelter, letting himself and his family free. But at the end of the movie you are in a doubt again. The last scene leaves the ending open and up for the viewer to decide what to think. So you watch the ending credits wondering who is crazy here? Was he crazy in the first place or did his behavior inflected his family so much that they start to see things too? Also, is he now in the wrong place at the wrong time because he listened to everyone else instead of himself? That is up to the viewer to decide.

Michael Shannon really produces a great performance in this movie, with his crazy-look and several noticeable ticks during the movie which really makes the character imaginable and you realize how he is the perfect actor for this role. The actress in this movie really makes another great performance. After the breakthrough in the Tree of Life and the Academy Award nominated roles in The Help and Zero Dark Thirty Jessica Chastain really shows the enormous potential she has to become an even more formidable actress in her upcoming movies.

Take Shelter is one of the few masterpieces of an independent film that has been produced in the last couple of years. Director Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon made another breathtaking collaboration that will surely make an impact on you and will keep you excited for a couple of hours.