TAKE SHELTER, which captured two top prizes at this year's Cannes Film Festival and went on to receive glowing reviews from film critics, debuts February 14th on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. A haunting psychological thriller which Vanity Fair called "an American masterpiece," the film has a stellar cast headed by Academy Award® nominee Michael Shannon (Best Supporting Actor, Revolutionary Road, and TV's "Boardwalk Empire") and Jessica Chastain (The Help, Tree of Life). Also starring are Golden Globe® winner Kathy Baker (1992, Best Actress in a TV Performance, "Picket Fences"), Katy Mixon (TV's "Mike and Molly"), Shea Whigham (TV's "Boardwalk Empire"), and, in her film debut, Tova Stewart. Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories) wrote and directed.
Recently, Jessica Chastain earned a Best Supporting Actress win from the New York Film Critics Circle, while the Film Independent Spirit Awards recognized Take Shelter with five nominations, including Best Male Lead (Shannon), Best Supporting Female (Chastain) and Best Picture. The film was also honored at major film festivals throughout the year - with the Fipresci Prize and Critics Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and as an Official Selection at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals.
The film was produced by Tyler Davidson (Swedish Auto) and Sophia Lin (Shadows and Lies) with Sarah Green (The Tree of Life), Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Insidious), Christos Konstantakopoulos (Burning Heads), and Greg Strause (Skyline) serving as executive producers.
The DVD contains special features including deleted scenes, a Q&A with actors Michael Shannon & Shea Whigham, commentary with Michael Shannon and Writer/Director Jeff Nichols and a behind the scenes featurette. Take Shelter will be available on DVD for $30.99 SRP.
The film tells the story of Curtis LaForche who lives in a small Ohio town with his wife Samantha and six-year-old daughter Hannah, who is deaf. Curtis makes a modest living as a crew chief for a sand-mining company. Samantha is a stay-at-home mother and part-time seamstress who supplements their income by selling handmade wares at the flea market each weekend.
Money is tight, and navigating Hannahís healthcare and special needs education is a constant struggle. Despite that, Curtis and Samantha are very much in love and their family is a happy one. Then Curtis begins having terrifying dreams about an encroaching, apocalyptic storm.
He chooses to keep the disturbance to himself, channeling his anxiety into the obsessive building of a storm shelter in their backyard. His seemingly inexplicable behavior concerns and confounds Samantha, and provokes intolerance among co-workers, friends and neighbors. But the resulting strain on his marriage and tension within the community doesnít compare to Curtisí private fear of what his dreams may truly signify.
Faced with the proposition that his disturbing visions signal disaster of one kind or another, Curtis confides in Samantha, testing the power of their bond against the highest possible stakes.
To view the trailer from the film, click below!
