Director/Writer: Jeff
Nichols
Starring: Michael Shannon,
Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker
“Take Shelter” is the second
film I’ve watched because of Ebertfest mere months since my initial screening.
I reviewed this amazing movie from last year less than two months ago as a
Penny Thoughts. You can read my initial impressions here.
The strongest argument for
the greatness of this movie is that with only a few weeks passing between
screenings, I was just as easily sucked into it the second time through. I
think this one would’ve ranked in the top three of my favorite films of last
year, had I seen it time to make my best of list.
What I would like to discuss
this time around is the time of day we watch movies. “Take Shelter” is the
second film by Jeff Nichols, who is proving himself to be a master of
atmosphere and evocation of a specific location. I suppose he’s also a master
of the evocation of a particular time of day. He debut film was the excellent
“Shotgun Stories”, which I first experienced at Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in
2008. Both movies are best watched at a specific time of day. In fact their
timing, could make for an amazing double feature.
“Shotgun Stories” is
definitely made for late afternoon, probably summer time. “Take Shelter” is
definitely best screened at dusk, ending after nightfall, probably in late
spring. While the seasons of the two films don’t match up as well, the timing
during that day could match them together on a double bill easily.
“Take Shelter” is definitely
made for severe weather season in the Midwest. The plot of the film deals
directly with its main character’s paranoia about a major storm on the horizon.
What he fears is more than a mere tornado. It is something much larger that
will affect all life on Earth, but Nichols deals with his dilemma on a very
personal level. The globality of it is a subtle detail that comes across as a product
of his paranoia at first but is ominously suggested in the film’s final
moments.
This notion of certain
movies being made for certain times of day, and even certain times of year, is
not new to me. Through the years I’ve heard many people mention how they like
to watch this movie at that time of year, or some such thing. I wonder if this
is something the filmmaker intends when he sets out to make a movie. Certainly
it cannot be a high priority in the grand scheme of constructing a work of
cinematic art, but as a fairly universal concept between audiences, it must
occur to some filmmakers that his film is perfect for this time of year and
some of the cinematography can be geared towards shaping the movie for specific
times of day and year.
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