Shotgun Stories Reviews and Ratings


  • kubrickian
    October 10, 2009
    kubrickian
    Sparse. Bleak. It never does anything more than it needs to and to great effect.
  • kingmob6
    July 4, 2009
    kingmob6
    A quiet character study about the feud that comes to the surface after a father of several children dies in rural Arkansas.

    A man has three children, treats them and his spouse like shit for many years, then divorces, moves ACROSS TOWN basically, finds God, remarries and has fou...( read more)r more children, who he treats wonderfully.

    The older three boys are all raised to hate their half-brothers, and with the old man dead, all of this tension comes to a bloody head.

    An interesting slice of Americana, this is a slow and measured look at life in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else's business.

    Give it a rental.
  • DrRock9000
    May 24, 2009
    DrRock9000
    Timmy hates it, Jerf loves it. The truth lies somewhere in between. The problem with some indie films, as with this one, is that it's a good story that should take no more than an hour to tell, but the filmmakers need to stretch it out to make that 90 minute milestone. Don't g...( read more)et me wrong, there's not a damn thing wrong with slow pacing but there needs to be valid reasoning for it and I could sense the effort in making this one last it's course and it takes away from what is otherwise a very good screenplay. Please though, spare me two things: 1. The casting of a non-actor to play the part of 'Shampoo' just to get an authentic "feel" for a backwoods Arkansas meth dealer. and 2. The first names of the three leads. We already get it, their dad was an asshole. Leave that shit to Jim Jarmucsh. Beyond that, a solid effort from first time director, Jeff Nichols.
  • gryph5150
    April 30, 2009
    gryph5150
    Michael Shannon stars in this slow-moving revenge story filmed largely in my hometown of England, Arkansas. Kinda bummed though that I didn't get a cameo in this. I would have been a natural.
  • ngilliam
    March 20, 2009
    ngilliam
    this movie rocks fuckin` ass!
  • cacutshaw
    January 24, 2009
    cacutshaw
    Outstanding revenge drama with excellent understated performances, especially Shannon. Like a modern Hatfield and McCoy showing the consequences and futility of revenge. Highly recommended.
  • groovieghoulie
    January 20, 2009
    groovieghoulie
    Here is a tense and sorrowful film where common sense struggles with blood lust.
    It stars the incredible Michael Shannon who was equally brilliant in Bug.
  • jeffmugen
    January 2, 2009
    jeffmugen
    Breathtaking drama set between two families who share one thing in common: There father. The movie explores the human emotions that come with with abandonment of a father. With an tense and unflinching atmosphere, Shotgun Stories is a true treat and ... (read more) Breathtaking...( read more) drama set between two families who share one thing in common: There father. The movie explores the human emotions that come with with abandonment of a father.

    With an tense and unflinching atmosphere, Shotgun Stories is a true treat and one of the years best films. Jeff Nichols has a bright career ahead of him.
  • rbevanx
    September 21, 2008
    rbevanx
    Big disapointment. Expecting this to be really good but the film is so boring. I had to turn it off after 40 mins.
  • kylomufachi
    September 14, 2008
    kylomufachi
    For being Jeff Nichols' first movie it is pretty good. I had a in depth conversation and this movie and other things with the director before watching it. It was well worth the watch. The story is great, acting great, and visually great.
  • jonrmcmahon
    September 4, 2008
    jonrmcmahon
    Some fine authentic moments of suspense and southern living, anchored by Shannon doing his minimalist routine. The use of Benny Mardones songs is genius.
  • tsigur
    September 4, 2008
    tsigur
    What a pussy of a revenge film! Look, I support idependent film as much as the next guy. Guy makes a movie for $500 on his cell phone, hoorah, go get 'em, I appreciate what you are doing. But from the looks of the cast (I don't get this Micheal Shannon fetish people have) and the...( read more) cinematography, it looks like they had some money, so why the fuck couldn't they get some decent sound and at least one more guy who knew something about acting to fill in for the rest of the director's family members. The story started out as pretty interesting, but then falls flat. And everybody knows that the best basketball player to come out of Arkansas is Joe Johnson, you dipshits, not Corliss fucking Williamson.
  • jenn1984106
    August 30, 2008
    jenn1984106
    Really great flick. Well acted with powerful plot line.
  • xanatos29
    August 10, 2008
    xanatos29
    A solid indi drama about two sets of step-brothers undying hate for each other. Not exactly a film of many words but it is all the more beautiful for it. Well acted by the entire cast of mostly unknown actors.(B)
  • n1mr0d
    August 1, 2008
    n1mr0d
    nice directing. great acting by Michael Shannon. Ill keep an eye on him from now on
  • mattsigur1
    July 28, 2008
    mattsigur1
    Has some powerful scenes and just good straight-ahead storytelling.
    But the cold emotions didn't feel cold, they just felt pawned off due to the lacking cast. Don't get me wrong I love me some Barlow Jacobs, but I couldn't figure out if Michael Shannon was a badass or doing a Mi...( read more)chael Biehn impression.
  • Jungian
    July 24, 2008
    Jungian
    "You raised us to hate those boys, and we do. And now it's come to this."
    rejected by major film distributors, it was saved by the festival circuit. thank god for small favors. this film is a quiet, sympathetic, and subtle triumph about how we relate with one another.
  • hamnotspam
    July 8, 2008
    hamnotspam
    This movie is constructed quite well although at the start you may be wondering where they are going with the movie. Once you bear with it, the film turns to an excellent story about a man's hatred and vengence. This movie shows how awful things can be when you don't keep your no...( read more)se out of things. This movie is basically a movie acting out the classic quote 'If you're in a hole then you should probably stop digging'
  • moviecritic202
    July 3, 2008
    moviecritic202
    absolutely stunning.
  • bort16
    June 11, 2008
    bort16
    Having been ignored and pushed aside by big studios and distributers, and overshadowed by big money makers, Jeff Nichols Shotgun Stories has gotten limited release. As much as I enjoy finding the hidden gems, it always makes me a little bit sad to see a film so great passed over...( read more). Filmed primarily in 2004, and released last year, Shotgun Stories has gotten a nice word of mouth and critical following. Roger Ebert announced it would play at his Overlooked Film Festival, and recently published a 4 star review.
    The film centers on Son Hayes and his brothers, Boy and Kid. They were given their names by their alcoholic deadbeat father, who birthed them, left them as if they were never born, then reformed his ways, stopped drinking, became a born again Christian and fathered a new family. The boys were left, as Son says, to be "raised by a hateful woman," who taught them to hate their fathers new family, and they do. When their father dies, the brothers show up at his funeral, make an impromptu speech, which the new sons, with proper names, do not take kindly to.
    Writer/director Nichols handles his film with the greatest of care. Not a word of dialogue is uttered that seems inplausible. Nothing is wasted on exposition. For instance, what we know about the Father, we learn only through the brief speech made by Son at the funeral. It feels real, it feels to the point, and best of all, in a few short words it never feels like exposition. Nichols takes his time, never rushing, but wasting nothing. The end result is a visceral experience.
    The actors all deliever excellent performances, especially Michael Shannon, who seems to be off and on in alot of roles. Here he is definatly on.
    This film gets under your skin, takes you into the world of these characters and never lets you go. There are deaths in the film, and when it happens midway through, a sense of loss, of sadness, and of rage is felt by the audience for the remainder.
    It never boils down into a standard revenge film, but simply muddles in the mundane and sad lives of its characters. Although this film exudes a sense of sadness that few other films could aspire to, its not depressing. I would not dare reveal the films resolution, only to say that it comes sensibly, after a moment of great realization.
    Nichols shows himself to be a serious filmaker to watch in the future. This is a profound and wise film. And a great one too.
  • iiBabaORileyII
    May 21, 2008
    iiBabaORileyII
    a great drama about two groups of half brothers fighting because of their father and to protect each's family. the ending was not what i expected it to be and i liked it that it caught me off guard. the director jeff nichols did a wonderful job with this movie making the subject...( read more)s of several scenes very subtle and i'll be looking into his movies in the future. i should also mention michael shannon's performance, he is great, he is such a promising actor and i really hope that he gets a role soon that gets him an oscar because he is just amazing here and in other movies like bug so i think he has great potential to be a best actor winner someday if he finds the right movie to be apart of. i highly reccomend this movie!!!
  • standbyfilms
    April 4, 2008
    standbyfilms
    "Shotgun Stories" manages to stand out from the crowd. It's a good low-budget debut film that offers both a director, Jeff Nichols, and an actor, Michael Shannon, who are worth keeping an eye on.

    This story of an Arkansas blood feud begins with the reported death of the patri...( read more)arch of two cotton-country families. In his early, roustabout days, he fathered three boys, then abandoned them and their mother. He didn't bother to give these youngsters names. As adults, they are still known as Son (Shannon), Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs). They despise their father's memory. At his funeral, the three show up in T-shirts and jeans, and Son, the big-dog sibling, delivers a bitter insult to his dad's other family - a decent woman, and four more boys the old man fathered after he sobered up and found Jesus.

    Director Nichols, who attended the North Carolina School of the Arts (along with the film's producer, David Gordon Green, and cinematographer, Adam Stone), knows the setting: He was born and raised in Little Rock and has a feel for rendering landscape as fate.

    Shannon, who has a substantial filmography (including "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead"), is a revelation here and seems destined for bigger things. He has a face made for Westerns - you can picture him in Peckinpah's movies - and when he's on-screen, the other actors might as well just grab a chair, sit and wait till he's finished.

    Try to see this on a screen or its soon to land on DVD -

    Vince
    Vmedia, berkeley Ca.
  • mitsyc10
    August 28, 2007
    mitsyc10
    Maybe rent it on DVD.

Summary

Shotgun Stories Summary