Review of Shotgun Stories (2007) by Lateef R — 11 Feb 2013

This is an excellent and complex family drama. It has a familiar story but the execution is excellent and believable. It helps to have a strong cast led by, the always amazing, Michael Shannon. If there's one thing the film fucks up on is taking a black and white look at how these two families are with each other.

It's clear that Michael Shannon's character and his brothers, at least in the way they're presented and portrayed, are the 'good' guys. Perhaps the film was intended to be more of a grey area, because both sets of brothers have legitimate issues, but it just seems to me the film's more black and white than it probably wanted to be.

Still, the film covers complex issues and the acting more than makes up for it. Not much to say, this is an excellent film and I'd definitely recommend it.