Grove Hill Productions, Hydraulx, Strange Matter Films,
Michael Shannon, Katy Mixon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Guy Van Swearingen, Tova Stewart, Natasha Randall, Scott Knisley, Ron Kennard
Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) is a construction worker with a lot of debt, a wife, and little girl who’s deaf. Curtis feels a strong responsibility to his family, and is trying to protect them and take care of them. But he’s having strange and dreadful nightmares of a coming storm threatening their lives, and the lives of the entire community. To protect the family, Curtis decides to build a storm shelter in the back yard, borrowing money on his home, and investing all his time in building a shelter to save them all. But when Curtis was a little boy, his mother was diagnosed with severe mental problems and spent her life in a mental institution. Curtis was raised by his father. So his first thought is that maybe it’s a mental issue, and seeks help. Knowing it’s hard on his family, still he feels like protecting his family is the most important thing in life.
This is a Sundance Film Festival film, so naturally it’s a bit slow and plodding, and the characters are well developed. It’s also a thoughtful film. The ending may not be what everyone wants, as it leaves it open for you to interpret what’s really going on, but Michael Shannon is perfect in the role of the troubled guy trying to do right, while fearful that he’s losing his mind. He doesn’t overplay it, but is practically perfect in his approach to the role. His wife is played by Jessica Chastain who is also a very good casting choice. She is long suffering, and really loves him, but is not sure how to handle the situation. When it comes to a crisis, I would love to have her on my side, as she handles it like a pro. The relationships in this movie are well developed, and we feel the pain that they are going through trying to make sense of what is going on.
This is a very well done indy picture, and one that was very worth watching. I highly recommend this if you like movies that make you think, and have really good character development. I thought they did an excellent job on this picture, especially Michael Shannon, who I thought gave a stellar performance that I can’t say enough about.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
