296 – Take Shelter

We return this week to one of the Oscar years we bemoan the most, 2011, to talk about Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter. After Michael Shannon landed a surprise acting nomination for Revolutionary Road, it seemed he’d somewhat cornered the market on onscreen psychosis. In this film, he plays a rural father who begins to see apocalyptic visions that may or may not be coming to fruition. As his wife, Jessica Chastain would make her debut when the film premiered to Sundance audiences, already amassing a reputation as the next big thing due to the several films she had coming, including Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.

This episode, we talk about Shannon’s onscreen persona and how it may shade our perceptions of this film. We also talk about how The Help became the film that Chastain was Oscar nominated for in her breakthrough year, Kathy Baker in Edward Scissorhands, and the film’s divisive ending.

Topics also include Sundance 2011 movies, the Death Becomes Her musical, and cozy culture during the apocalypse.

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