Take Shelter and Tomboy by Roger Ebert

Take Shelter: Ebert's review of "Take Shelter" was a helpful compilation of both plot and emotion. Immediately after reading his film review, I am curious to see the film. His review is great in that he digs at raw human emotions such as fear and paranoia. Ebert guides the reader through the film's plot line which is quite simple: a man who has everything begins to fear that he will lose everything. This, no doubt, is one of our greatest fears. Ebert hits at the high points of the flim and the causes of Curtis' loosened grip on reality. Moreover, Ebert carefully evaluates the characters, adding additional emphasis to Shea Whigham's role as Dewart, Curtis' best friend. Through his review, Ebert also notes the scenery and the landscape of the rural Ohio countryside. He is careful to not give too much plot away, especially at the end of his review -- but based on his review and the plot of the movie, the reader already has a sense of the outcome. Ebert has a knack for combining the raw emotion of the film with his own personal critique of the movie. He characterizes Curtis as an average, hardworking father and husband who becomes engulfed in his fear and paranoia, essentially losing his sanity in return for a hellish nightmare. Overall, Ebert's critique of the film hooks the reader and applauds Michael Shannon's versatility. Ebert furthers his opinions of Shannon's work by lastly stating that Shannon deserves an Oscar nomination for his role in the film. Ebert's opinion of Shannon's work is not biased either, as Ebert includes other rich films Shannon appeared in and the reader must take into account the difficult role that Shannon had to play. Also, through Ebert's characterization and depiction of Curtis, the reader understands that only a versatile actor could portray a man slipping away from reality and his family into an underworld of unknowns.

Tomboy: A slightly different film in that it deals with gender identity and not paranoia or a mid-life crisis as expressed in "Take Shelter". Ultimately, by reading the review, the movie demonstrates how children experiment with both genders during an early age. Kids will be kids regardless of the restrictions a parent tries to enact. At a younger age, some children identify better with one gender than the other gender. Ebert never really expresses this fact in his review. His closing sentence stresses it slightly, but throughout the review he states no universal meaning that he found within the movie. His characterization of Laure is magnificent. His review goes in to detail about her background and her family, which is important when understanding the context of the movie. Furthermore, the beginning of his review signifies that there is no "agenda" with the production of the movie. Ebert highlights that the viewer cannot tell at the beginning of the movie if the protagonist is a boy or a girl, which is important that he states this through his description of the camera angle. His review and mention of certain plot elements indicate that the movie does not center around any conflict in Laure's life -- she plays in the woods with her friends and none of the kids tease her about being a tomboy. Overall, Ebert's review is simple and heartfelt.