SummarySon 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 fath...
SummarySon 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 fath...
"Shotgun Stories" is a moody melodrama of Southern rural life smartly observed.
Jeff Nichols shoots his first feature film, trusting the scenery, the faces of his actors creating the atmosphere while he relies on small town, everyday life circumstances for character building. "Shotgun Stories" is a tragedy that unfolds beautifully as an intimate family drama. It serves as a passionate cry to end senseless violence, as well as a stark reminder that we possess the power to determine our own destinies.
Set against the backdrop of rural Arkansas, "Shotgun Stories" follows an escalating feud between two sets of half-brothers who differ in every way, except for one side of their parental heritage. We are first introduced to Son (Michael Shannon), Boy (Dougls Ligon), and Kid Hayes (Barlow Jacobs), born to a drunken father who didn't have the decency to give his offspring names, and rejected by a mother who was too bitter to care for them. The father decides to abandon his first family to find sobriety, God, and to begin a new life with another family. He fathers four more sons who were given the real names and the upbringing they deserved. The second Hayes family owns a cotton and soybean farm and is comfortably middle class. Son, in contrast, works at a fish hatchery and loses all his money trying to perfect a "system" he thinks can beat the local casino. Kid sleeps in a tent in Son's yard, and Boy lives in a van by the river. When their father dies the sets of brothers are brought together at his funeral, and their previously harbored hostilities erupt and further escalate.
Nichols makes a point not to show us the actual violence on screen. He often cuts away at the critical moments of a confrontation, and it is Nichols' approach to film making that strips away any glamour associated with the violence while being consistent with his message.
It should be noted that the pacing here is pretty slow albeit realistically so. Thankfully the performances alone are sufficient to keep this counter-revenge tragedy on track. The performances are uniformly excellent with veteran character actor Michael Shannon as the film's emotional anchor. There is plenty to enjoy in "Shotgun Stories," just don't anticipate all the fireworks.
Shotgun Stories is a well shot, slow burner of a movie. The script honestly isn't all that great in my opinion, but Michael Shannon absolutely elevates this movie to newfound heights. His performance is incredible, and all of his scenes are just fantastic to watch. The film has a realness to it that a lot of films don't have. It kind of reminded me of American Honey meets Bottle Rocket meets Goodfellas. It's a good flick, and worth at least one viewing if nothing else.
At the center of the film is a keenly understated performance by Michael Shannon (Bug, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) as the eldest of the cast-off sons.
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.
Michael Shannon is always good. But you can definitely see him get better in later films. And I know you have to set the atmosphere. But nothing happening for 35 minutes is a bit much. There's a lot of uninteresting conversations between bored men without many options. There's a chubby friend that seems to exist only as comedy relief. He does goofy things like trying to put a house air conditioner into his van. Not funny. Not pathetic enough to be sad. Then there's a goofy guy named shampoo. Another silly aimless young man. With no prospects. The movie seems to shamble slowly from one generic Country Boy scene to another, setting up the final showdown. It's hard to say all these things because of all the good reviews. It's not bad. But it's also not worth watching.
Nicely shot but quite slow.
Just found it all a bit dull really & didn't care about the characters.
I was waiting for stuff to happen & it sort of didn't.