 After struggling for a breakthrough in film for a number of years, in 2011 Chastain had six film releases, gaining widespread acclaim and recognition for her roles in several of them. The first of these roles was in Jeff Nichols'Take Shelter, a drama about a troubled father (Michael Shannon) who tries to protect his family (Chastain played his wife) from an impending storm. It was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and the critic Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph thought that Chastain's supporting part aided the narrative, writing that she "backs [Shannon] up with luminous concern". She received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination for the film.
