LARSONRD Another hard-hitting and thought-provoking drama. Director Aric Avelino examines guns from the perspective of four separate stories: Marcia Gay Hardin as the mother of an Oregon teenager who shot up his school, Columbine-like, and faces guilt and blame and scorn from neighbors, and worry about her other son, who is now the same age as the other brother when he performed his murderous act and suicide; an inner city school principal (excellently played by Forest Whitaker, who I was pleased to see won an Oscar last week for his role as Idi Amin in LAST KING OF Scotland) trying to stay on top of the school's anti-gun policy, with Arlen Escarpeta as an A-student carrying for his mom and family who feels he needs a gun for protection while walking to/from school; Tony Goldwyn as the cop who first arrived on scene at the Oregon school shooting and who faces community/media criticism for delayed response (again, very much based on Columbine); and Linda Cardellini who shines in a very convincing performance as a west coast girl displaced to a Virginia college who is working in her granddad's (Donald Sutherland) gun shot. All of the performances, in fact, are striking and through them the picture really has an emotional impact. The film, without comment, portrays these differing views of gun ownership, gun violence, school shootings, guilt, blame, etc., very nicely filmed and beautifully portrayed, its vignettes and its style leaving the viewer to establish their own viewpoint and opinions. The film keeps its personal viewpoint quiet, instead simply portraying a few aspects of American life impacted by the consequences of guns. Like American HISTORY X, I found this to be a provoking and stimulating drama about reality, choices, consequences, and inevitability, peopled by honest and real characters, superbly portrayed and beautifully composed.

Jeff cMo That was a very harsh review above. I saw the other films he spoke of, and I thought this was MUCH better. Elephant was nowhere near as good as this film, sorry.You can't compare this film with one of Michael Moore's documentaries. We have suffered more than one senseless shooting, and I personally think we could use a few more films about it. We need to raise awareness and learn how to love.This movie is a very real way to look at love. I personally think the reality of these situations was portrayed beautifully.I agree, the violence was tragic, but it happens. However, I don't see how you could be so disappointed, given the subject matter.Yeah, this movie is up there with Crash, if you ask me. :( Wake up America...

HawksRevenge I have to say I enjoyed this film immensely; there are several stories that are going on and they are all of society's and family's problems brought to life.One story focuses on a woman's devastated life after her son killed his fellow students and she is making sure her other son is safe, and her unforgiving neighbors relentless need to get their point across There is also a story about an African American principal and his family coping with the daily trial of living in the inner city, and also a troubled African American student who lives, goes to school and works in an area where he feels he needs to be armed.In addition there are stories about the police who are being blamed for not doing more than they did.Towards the end of the movie there is a scene where a mini mart is robbed and two people are killed one a young girl in to buy a soda Conclusion; society has progressed around the country especially in Texas and all the major cities, where people especially kids feel the need to be armed to be safe Today kids are into the most harmful and dangerous things around, sex, drugs and worse, and your average American home has at least one gun, and the parents say my kids know better than to touch any guns, "is that right?" Society is exactly the problem!! This film was excellent!!

D A Character study interweaves different American's particular situations dealing with guns, and although there are some heartfelt moments and subtle touches of authenticity, this movie generally wastes the majority of it's time trying to get viewers involved with characters that are inadequately portrayed, with direction that is competent at best. While there are moments of surprising observation and relevance, throughout the movie most of these character's barely make a register on the viewers emotions due to the detached approach the filmmaker choose, I suppose as an attempt to emulate realism and lend the film some depth. Unfortunately, this backfires, as Avelino simply does not have the ammunition suitable to deliver the riveting drama he attempts here. While a few of the stories retain slight interest, no doubt due to the sometimes worthwhile cast, at least half of the plot here veers off to a tangent that really has no substance in dealing with the topic at hand, or the characters underlying emotions. Sutherland's chapter in particular seemed like a total throwaway for this movie, and completely under-utilizes the actor's immense talent. All and all, this is not a terrible movie. It addresses at least a few painful gun related issues lingering around the American psyche, but unfortunately it addresses these issues in a completely flat and unengaging way.