Shotgun Stories

76

IFC First Take (92 minutes)
and Jeff Nichols
Michael Shannon , Barlow Jacobs , Natalie Canerday , Glenda Pannell , Michael Abbott Jr. , and Travis Smith

Rating: PG-13 for violence, thematic elements and brief strong language

Summary: Son Hayes never speaks of the scars on his back. The shotgun pellets left under his skin make for a sporadic pattern of blue-black dots. The men he works with take bets on how he got them. His brothers, Boy and Kid Hayes, don't discuss it. His past, just like the scars, is never far behind him. This stands true for the memory of his father, a man who never bothered to give his children proper names. He left the three brothers, Son, Boy, and Kid, when they were young. Their last impressions of him were of a violent drunk who never hesitated to put his own needs ahead of his family's. The brothers were left to be raised by their mother, a hateful woman who to this day blames her children for the life she's been left with and the loss of the man she couldn't keep. Their father, having left the memory of his children as completely as he left their home, managed to move on and put his life back together. He sobered up, became a devout Christian, married a wonderful woman, and fathered four new sons--all of whom received proper names. His life became a model that most would aspire to--a man successful in business, community, and family--with his only true failing being the sons he turned his back on. (Liberation Entertainment)

Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
(100) An allegory of our times, Shotgun Stories is a tragedy of biblical scale and an intimate family drama. Unlike the more lauded films of last year, which glorified a national preoccupation with bloody deeds, Shotgun Stories is a passionate cry to end the violence and a reminder that we, as free individuals, have the power to determine our own destinies.

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times:
(100) Here is a tense and sorrowful film where common sense struggles with blood lust.

Michael Ordona
Los Angeles Times:
(90) An understated gem. Writer-director Jeff Nichols, making his feature debut, has created a richly textured world.

Noel Murray
The Onion (A.V. Club):
(83) Well-plotted, with a strong lead performance by Michael Shannon, and a fair amount of authentic regional flavor. It isn't really meant to be a treatise on Southern life. At heart, it's a country-fried genre film, minus the peppery white gravy.

Matt Zoller Seitz
The New York Times:
(80) The film is a here-and-now American potboiler and a stripped-down parable that can be appreciated by any culture.

Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide:
(75) The cast deliver consistently fine, subtle performances, underscored by Ben Nichols' mournfully melodic guitar score.

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