American Gun (2005)

37% of critics liked it
(30 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(3,491 ratings)

Three stories of how America's obsession with firearms impacts its citizens are explored in this independent drama. Carl Wilk (Donald Sutherland) runs a gun shop in Virginia that has been owned and operated by his family for generations. Carl sees the shop as his family's legacy without paying much… More Three stories of how America's obsession with firearms impacts its citizens are explored in this independent drama. Carl Wilk (Donald Sutherland) runs a gun shop in Virginia that has been owned and operated by his family for generations. Carl sees the shop as his family's legacy without paying much mind to what happens with the weapons he sells. When his granddaughter Mary Ann (Linda Cardellini) needs money for college, Carl gives her a job in the store, and while she's hesitant at first, she becomes fascinated with the merchandise as time passes. On the West Side of Chicago, Carl Carter (Forest Whitaker) is the principal of a high school where violence has become a sad fact of life. As Carl and his wife, Sara (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon), fear for their young son as they worry he could either fall prey to the violence of their community or embrace it himself, Carl receives a severe emotional blow when Jay (Arlen Escarpeta), one of his most promising students, is discovered carrying a pistol. And in Oregon, Janet (Marcia Gay Harden) is a single mother still troubled by the death of her teenaged son three years before, who took his own life after killing a handful of his classmates in a violent incident at a high school. As Janet deals with sharp words from the community, many of whom believe she should be held responsible for her late son's actions, she is unsure how to handle her surviving son, David (Christopher Marquette), who is now of high-school age. American Gun was the first feature film for writer and director Aric Avelino. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Aric Avelino
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 22, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Aug 29, 2006
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle
It's a bit like watching a weaker version of Crash, with fewer coincidences.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
The guns seem to have been shoved in various characters' pockets as afterthought, and Avelino's interlocking stories never click.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
[Avelino] shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult.
Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
While not a perfect movie by any means -- a few scenes feel forced -- there is plenty to recommend it, even beyond the truly great performances.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's so well done.
Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
While this is not exactly a hopeful movie, it's a polished exercise in the kind of social commentary that can wake people up.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Crash director Paul Haggis ought to feel honored by this homage which also features interwoven storylines and an ensemble cast, though focusing on the proliferation of firearms in the U.S.
Kam Williams, AALBC.com
A moving morality play indicting America for its ongoing love affair with the Second Amendment.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
From its shrill pitch to its insidious delivery, American Gun is the little sibling of Paul Haggis's Crash. Its only charm is that it's 20 minutes shorter.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
takes too many shortcuts and easy-outs in exploring the issue
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Full of grating hysterics and solemn symbolism.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
It isn't trite or strident - it doesn't shout or pound the desk - and, in a way, its own thoughtfulness is its worst enemy.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
American Gun arrives in theaters too late to really make a difference or say anything new on the subject of school shootings.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[T]his is no bit of cheap exploitation created merely to rake in some dough. But purity of motives aside, the film simply isn't very good.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
Despite a few effective moments, Gun ... never makes the big statement it seems to be reaching for.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
What we're left with after watching "American Gun" isn't a sense of who's right or who's wrong, but more of a sadness that so many people feel so powerless and afraid that they think owning a gun will set things right.
Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Rather than blast us with a strong polemic, Avelino chooses to trace what are often the everyday ramifications of living in an armed society.
Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International
...more like talking points for a film than a finished product. The effects of violence and the gun trade are examined, but little light is shed.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"American Gun" consists of three separate storylines:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]1) In Ellisburgh, Oregon, the third anniversary of a high school massacre is fast approaching. The mother of one of the shooters, Janet… More
[font=Century Gothic]"American Gun" consists of three separate storylines:[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]1) In Ellisburgh, Oregon, the third anniversary of a high school massacre is fast approaching. The mother of one of the shooters, Janet Huttenson(Marcia Gay Harden), is stuggling to get by. Her younger son, David(Chris Marquette), is now the age of his older brother when he died.(But I don't understand why she never moved away to give her younger son a fresh start. Frankly, nobody can handle that much pain and torment.) [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]2) On the south side of Chicago, a high school principal(Forest Whitaker, again proving that he is one of the best actors around) works everyday to make his school a safe place to learn.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]3) In Charlottesville, Va, Mary Ann(Linda Cardellini) is attending the University of Virginia . She is uneasy about working in the gun store that her grandfather(Donald Sutherland) owns.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"American Gun" has an interesting set-up that promises a thorough examination of gun violence in America but the movie goes nowhere quickly and shamefully ducks out of the way of any politcs. Instead, it takes an ineffectual approach to the material that reeks of touchy-feely sentimentalism. Yes, families need to communicate better and we can all use a group hug from time to time but none of that does anything to address the urgent problem of the ready availability of guns in this country.[/font]
William G

Not too trite, but not very original or effective, either.