so Curtis had visions of a storm coming (call it apocalyptic or deadly, but the raining oil clearly indicates the supernatural) and it came. if that's true, it glosses over his supposed battle with schizophrenia -- he apparently wasn't having delusions, just premonitions of a real event.

as I see it, Curtis becoming mentally ill is as real and dangerous as any real storm that would threaten his family. here's a family man, living an honest life, stricken by an onslaught of harrowing dreams. he realizes he has a hereditary link to mental illness, and suddenly he's not sure how much longer he might remain sane. all of this drives him into a panic, and the very thing he fears -- losing his family -- is coming to fruition by his own hand, for reasons he cannot explain. a figurative storm is coming, nothing he can do will stop it, and everything he holds dear is at risk (the economic collapse ties into this as well).

*that* is more interesting than having visions of a supernatural catastrophe which actually come true. if the movie's theme is that "we cannot stop impending destruction / shit is unavoidable", what's more unavoidable a mental illness? one that might cause you to lose your family?

I like Take Shelter, A LOT, but Nichols either compromised the movie with the ending, or inadvertently made a masterful film while aiming for a tepid one.