Ever since the world began it seems there have been people telling us that the end times are a’coming.  Nowadays we laugh them off as quacks, or chalk it up to a brain disorder.  But what if the visions of earth’s fiery doom are happening to you?  How could you tell if you’re slipping away from reality, or the 21st Century’s Noah?  Take Shelter is a look at one man’s balancing act between insanity and prophecy, and it’s quite simply an amazing piece of work.

Brilliant character actor Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire, The Runaways) gives an impressive performance as Curtis, a blue-collar dude who has it all; beautiful house, lovely wife who adores him, and a good job with health insurance.  He also has a hearing-impaired little girl who is a candidate for cochlear implants.  Curtis has been having some strange dreams lately, and bit by bit they start to affect him in ways his family, friends and co-workers don’t understand.   Writer/director Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories) blends the story and Curtis’ visions together seamlessly, so it’s often hard to distinguish between his fantasy and reality.  Shannon’s performance makes your heart bleed for Curtis as you see him slowly sink into his visions, powerless to stop himself.

But is he a modern day prophet gifted with visions, or a man plagued by a biological inheritance he’s powerless to control?  In a scene with his mother (played by Kathy Baker, an outstanding performance in a film full of ‘em) where Curtis tip-toes around the idea that he may be breaking down too, Shannon’s layered performance is quiet and powerful.  Curtis is a man who has been taught to stand up for himself and his family, but is finding it harder and harder to keep it all together, and there’s no help in sight.  Take Shelter also points an accusatory finger at our health care system, with Curtis unable to receive treatment for his condition thanks to a tangled web of red tape.  Curtis’ wife Samantha has similar problems with daughter Hannah’s treatment.  It’s also a cold hard look at how mental illness is still treated like a second class citizen in the health insurance industry.

Jessica Chastain plays Curtis’ wife, and in a year of exceptional work from this talented actress, this is her most impressive performance to date.  Balancing a tenderness and inner strength while watching her husband and the life she’s known come undone, she is who we all would hope to be if this situation was thrust upon us.  Shannon’s fellow Boardwalk Empire alum Shea Whigham plays Curtis’ best friend Dewart, in a supporting role that hopefully won’t get lost in the powerful performances by the leading actors.  Nichols gets the best out of his actors, and brought together a cast that work so well together their emotional chemistry is off the charts.  It breaks your heart to see this family, these friendships, falling apart.  The soundtrack here is used to full effect, with the rumbling of the bass getting under your skin as Curtis becomes more and more uneasy.  Special effects are kept low-key, with only enough to illustrate Curtis’ visions.  They’re simple but effective.

In the end, Take Shelter doesn’t tie things together with a bow, but leaves viewers to draw their own conclusions.  There have been some grumblings about the ending, but without giving things away I have to say that a movie that quesitons sanity and spiritualism couldn’t have ended much differently.  This is as near to movie perfection as I’ve seen in quite a while, and I don’t say that lightly.  Magnificent performances, a thrilling, intense story that kept me hooked — not a single watch glance the entire time I was in the theater — and an ending that is maddening only because I was so invested and wanted to see things wrapped up for these characters.  Here’s hoping we’ll see much more of Take Shelter come awards season.