Shotgun Stories
Shotgun Stories Image
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Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • 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)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Here is a tense and sorrowful film where common sense struggles with blood lust.
  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    80
    The film is a here-and-now American potboiler and a stripped-down parable that can be appreciated by any culture.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen M. Hart
    75
    Director Jeff Nichols lets the action unfold slowly following an impromptu insult, but the escalation of hatred and pain feels natural.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ross Bennett
    60
    An interesting first effort from Nichols - making him a director to look out for in the future.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. AlexP
    9
    From the trailer and title I was expecting some epic gun play flick but what I got instead was some a acted and intense movie dealing with with family, loss, grief, and revenge. How marvelously mislead I was.… Expand
  2. JonathanR.
    8
    This is a movie I looked forward to seeing for months. The story moves slowly at times, but it fits the mood of the region and the mood of the characters. Its not an action film with characters hell-bent for vengance, its a movie about weighing options, doing whats right, realizing whats wrong and finding where the breaking point lies.… Expand
  3. cabrita
    5
    I found the films concept and story to be quite ineresting.However after the opening scenes of the film the film became uninteresting and very boring due to it's lack of anything. The film looses you because you do not feel their dellema nor do you find the tragedys that happen in the film to be very affecting. Ultinately the film is beautifully shot, but it lacked depth and did not tell it's story in an interesting way that involed me. The director of shotgun stories has improved in his writting and directing in his newest film Take Shelter.… Expand
  4. KelaM.
    1
    I decided to watch this movie after seeing the high ratings but I was throughly disappointed.It was a pain going through the entire movie which often dragged and was marked by some poor acting by the self-conscious actors.… Expand

See all 6 User Reviews

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