Curtis LaForche (Michael Shannon) is a working stiff in a small Ohio town, a crew chief for a sand-mining company. Money is tight, though Curtis finds solace in his supportive family, and devotion to his loving wife Samantha (Jessica Chastain) and their young daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart), who is deaf. There seems little remarkable about the man, yet he is in the shadow of a dark cloud and becomes increasingly plagued by apocalyptic apparitions. Haunted by his fears, his behaviour becomes erratic, and Curtis risks alienating the local community and stretching relationships with those closest to him beyond breaking point. Following Shotgun Stories from 2007, Jeff Nichols returns to the Festival with an extraordinary tale of ordinary madness that took two awards at Cannes this year, a deeply resonant vision that audaciously probes the psyche of modern America. Michael Shannon is emerging as one of the most significant screen actors working today, and his already considerable reputation is enhanced in this latest collaboration with Nichols. While his actions are often strange or questionable, Shannon's Curtis is a touching and vulnerable character, a thoroughly convincing everyman for our times.

Michael Hayden

Time Out critics' choice - read full review

One of Sight & Sound's 30 Festival recommendations - read more