Review of Shotgun Stories (2007) by Jan D — 27 Nov 2008
"Shotgun Stories" is a meditive, poetic rural tragedy with echoes of Terrence Malick, Townes Van Zandt and Larry Brown. Son Hayes and his two brothers "Boy" and "Kid" has learned to hate their father.
A drunken lowlife who never even bothered to name them properly. Their father left them when they were young, then he quit drinking, found god and started a new family. Upon their fathers death, Son and his two brothers show up at the funeral to show their lack of respect.
The incident at the funeral leads to a bitter blood feud between the rejected and the favored sons. "Shotgun Stories" is set in rural Arkansas and not in Larry Brown's Mississippi, but still there is alot of similarities to Brown and his work.
Just like Brown, Nichols captures the day to day life of ordinary people in the South, and he deals with their problems in a fashion that's neither vulgar or condescending. Adam Stone's lingering cinematagrophy and the score by Mike Nichols (Lucero) adds subtle beauty to this sad and captivating film.
This review of Shotgun Stories (2007) was written by Jan D on 27 Nov 2008.
Shotgun Stories has generally received positive reviews.
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