As men we are the protectors. While women are making more money, pushing through the glass ceiling, bringing in that dough and taking a stronger role in the household, there is still one traditional male role and stereotype that is considered acceptable : that is, that men are still the accepted protectors of our families.If you hear a noise downstairs, as a man you must pick up the bat, or the gun, and make your way down to investigate. If your wife is getting accosted, you need to be there to run the bastard off, to possibly take a knife or a gunshot if it means she escapes unharmed, and give her some mace for any future encounters. But what do you do when the world is literally torn up from underneath you? How do you protect your family from a super storm, a catastrophe, zombies, violence, unexpected calamity, Jesus there’s just no way. And yet every year such things are tearing our world apart; earthquakes and Hurricanes in New York, tsunamis and floods along the southern coasts, zombies in Haiti, collapsing banks in Europe, vampire squids on Wall Street, weapons of mass destruction floating through the terrorist underground like a Biggie mixtape in 1993, the prospect of the big one finally destroying Southern California, if a man were to dwell on how to protect his family from such things he’d go mad.
As does Michael Shannon’s (REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, BOARDWALK EMPIRE) character “Curtis” in Jeff Nichols’ Cannes Grand Prize Critics Award-winning TAKE SHELTER. The story of one man who begins to have apocalyptic visions, all-consuming nightmares that leave his bloody and urine-drenched, unable to be around his friends or his family. So that this plays on two fears.
1. What if this is real, how will I protect my family?
2. What if this isn’t, does that mean I’m going fucking insane?
The mind is a frighteningly complex thing and powerful thing. It controls your whole universe, your whole world; that is, life as you experience is no more external than your mind. It’s the gatekeeper and if it starts to go haywire, the world might as well be over. So either way, the end of the world as Curtis knows it is looming large on the horizon and like a protector, like a man he must fight it.
The story is nothing too new or groundbreaking, like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW meets KNOWING and A BEAUTIFUL MIND; or CHICKEN LITTLE updated for the indie movie set. But Shannon’s descending spiral into madness makes this story look real, feel real, until you begin to question your own sanity, wonder if all the precautions you make for natural disaster are valid, effective, or just your own paranoia and if so, you must keep that paranoid beast in check. Curtis’ wife, played by Jessica Chastain (THE TREE OF LIFE, THE HELP), is spot-on as the woman who wants to believe her husband is just being a good protector, slowly forced to admit the man she has married, who she loves, doting father to their deaf daughter and provider and guardian of their little family is unraveling.
This is a deep, important analysis of what happens to us as the generation of fear – and just watch the news, read the magazines, listen to public debates, political battles, everybody is afraid – falls victim to our own media-induced paranoias. Go watch it now. Then go home and flip from Fox News talking about terrorism to the NY Times talking about the European financial crisis to Rolling Stone talking about how Australia is washing away to Harper’s wondering if we will be so scared we run back to gold to Occupy wondering if justice exists any more for the average man. Then, take a breath. And pray you don’t go insane wondering how. The fuck. Will you protect. Your family.
- Ryan
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