Shotgun Stories (2007)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jeff Nichols

Writer:

Jeff Nichols (writer)

Release Date:

26 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Shotgun Stories tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father...

Plot Keywords:

Brothers | Shotgun | Half Brother | Hospital | Tractor

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Michael Shannon	...	Son Hayes
Douglas Ligon	...	Boy Hayes
Barlow Jacobs	...	Kid Hayes
Natalie Canerday	...	Nicole
Glenda Pannell	...	Annie Hayes
Lynnsee Provence	...	Stephen Hayes
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Abbott Jr.	...	Cleaman Hayes
Coley Canpany	...	Cheryl
Lance Christopher	...	Fish Farm Worker
Will Hahn	...	Farm Hand
Gary Hawkins	...	J.J.
Cole Hendrixson	...	Carter
Mark W. Johnson	...	Amos
Tom Kagy	...	Red
Vivian Morrison Norman	...	Melissa
Hannah Payne	...	Funeral Attendee
Cosmo Pfeil	...	Norman
Tucker Prentiss	...	Paul
Wyatt Ashton Prentiss	...	Kevin
David Rhodes	...	John Hayes
Travis Smith	...	Mark Hayes
G. Alan Wilkins	...	Shampoo

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, thematic elements and brief strong language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/12

Company:

A Lucky Old Sun Production

Trivia:

The majority of the principal photography took place in 2004.

Movie Connections:

References Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Modern Existential Western

Underneath this story of a modern southern family feud, is a Ford / Wayne western struggling to get out. If you dressed the men in ten gallon hats, cowboy boots, gave them a horse, holster and guns, and shifted the story back to the end of the 19th century, you wouldn't know the difference.

However, that is what is so admirable about the movie. The fact that it is a modern take on the western, investigating the same themes and ideas. Yet, the feel of the film is more that of a seventies Americana indie movie - The sparse realistic dialogue, the vast cinematic sweeps, and the ambient washes of sound. Nichols has obviously struggled with a small budget and lack of studio interest, but he brings us a movie that shows that given more money and a more complex screenplay he could prove to be a significant directoral talent.