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Shotgun Stories
IFC First Take


6.5

based on 15 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for violence, thematic elements and brief strong language

Starring Michael Shannon, Barlow Jacobs, Natalie Canerday, Glenda Pannell, Michael Abbott Jr., and Travis Smith

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)

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Jeff Nichols
DIRECTED BY:	Jeff Nichols
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 1, 2008 Theatrical: March 26, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	92 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

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.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Here is a tense and sorrowful film where common sense struggles with blood lust.

Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona

An understated gem. Writer-director Jeff Nichols, making his feature debut, has created a richly textured world.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

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.

The New York Times Matt Zoller Seitz

The film is a here-and-now American potboiler and a stripped-down parable that can be appreciated by any culture.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The cast deliver consistently fine, subtle performances, underscored by Ben Nichols' mournfully melodic guitar score.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

It's rare that a picture that deals with as much tragedy as this one also manages to convey as much warmth to its characters.

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

An austere rural landscape, festering hatred, class tensions, terse dialogue - these are common currency in indie movies these days. Shotgun Stories uses them all, but manages to stand out from the crowd.

Chicago Tribune Maureen M. Hart

Director Jeff Nichols lets the action unfold slowly following an impromptu insult, but the escalation of hatred and pain feels natural.

Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman

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.

LA Weekly Jim Ridley

In this tense, lyrical and bone-spare slice-of-death drama by writer-director Jeff Nichols, Shannon gets a role tailored to his lanky Middle American boyishness and the demons peering from behind it.

Variety Eddie Cockrell

Thesping is pitch-perfect across the board.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The movie makes you empathize with the rage that drives these young men to violence--but it also makes you see how manly action wipes out their individuality, their uniqueness, and turns them into archetypal meatheads.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Features a riveting performance by Michael Shannon as oldest son Son. He's definitely an actor to watch.

Empire Ross Bennett

An interesting first effort from Nichols - making him a director to look out for in the future.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kela M. gave it a1:
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.

Alex P gave it a9:
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.

Jonathan R. gave it an8:
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.

Larry N. gave it an8:
Moving and startling picture of small-town America, which,of course, is America. This story is sensitively and deftly told by directorJeff Nichols and actor Michael Shannon.

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Shotgun Stories IFC First Take

Shotgun Stories
IFC First Take