American Gun (2005)

Director:

Aric Avelino

Writers:

Steven Bagatourian (written by) and
Aric Avelino (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One nation under fire.

Plot:

Seemingly disparate portraits of people -- among them a single mother, a high school principal, and an ace student -- Distinctly American -- all affected by the proliferation of guns in American society.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Sleeping On Couch | Toy Gun | Single Mother | Surveillance Camera

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Aug. 24	4:00 AM	TMC
Sun. Aug. 31	1:00 PM	TMC

Cast

Marcia Gay Harden	...	Janet Huttenson
Forest Whitaker	...	Carter
Donald Sutherland	...	Carl Wilk
Lisa Long	...	Sandra Cohen
Chris Warren Jr.	...	Marcus
David Heymann	...	Producer
Chris Marquette	...	David Huttenson
Amanda Seyfried	...	Mouse
Nikki Reed	...	Tally
Joseph Kell	...	Security Guard
Tony Goldwyn	...	Frank
Rex Linn	...	Earl
Kevin Phillips	...	Reggie
Davenia McFadden	...	Felicia
Linda Cardellini	...	Mary Ann Wilk

MPAA:

Rated R for violent content and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13 | USA:R (certificate #41047)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

IFC Films

Trivia:

While shooting scenes with Forest Whitaker and 'Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon' in an LA neighborhood, the arrival of Britney Spears halted production. She was visiting a friend in the house next door, trailed by several shouting paparazzi photographers.

Goofs:

When David is drawing the tattoo on Tally's leg, she takes her glasses off and places them beside her. In the next cut her glasses are on, and in the next cut her glasses are off.

Movie Connections:

Features Pickup on South Street (1953)

Potential material falls flat

Character study interweaves different American's particular situations dealing with guns, and although there are some heartfelt moments and subtle touches of authenticity, this movie generally wastes the majority of it's time trying to get viewers involved with characters that are inadequately portrayed, with direction that is competent at best. While there are moments of surprising observation and relevance, throughout the movie most of these character's barely make a register on the viewers emotions due to the detached approach the filmmaker choose, I suppose as an attempt to emulate realism and lend the film some depth. Unfortunately, this backfires, as Avelino simply does not have the ammunition suitable to deliver the riveting drama he attempts here. While a few of the stories retain slight interest, no doubt due to the sometimes worthwhile cast, at least half of the plot here veers off to a tangent that really has no substance in dealing with the topic at hand, or the characters underlying emotions. Sutherland's chapter in particular seemed like a total throwaway for this movie, and completely under-utilizes the actor's immense talent. All and all, this is not a terrible movie. It addresses at least a few painful gun related issues lingering around the American psyche, but unfortunately it addresses these issues in a completely flat and unengaging way.