darosslfc Shotgun Stories is an indie film written and directed by Jeff Nichols. The writer/director of commercially successful Mud makes his debut with this film. Son Hayes (Michael Shannon), Boy Hayes (Douglas Ligon), and Kid Hayes (Barlow Jacobs) are residents of a small town in Arkansas. They were born to a mother that had hate rooted in her heart and were left by their father who started a new life and a new family in the same town. The film escalates when Son Hayes shows up with his brothers at the funeral of his father and has words about the true nature the man who died. Mark Hayes (Travis Smith), one of the oldest of the Hayes father's new family takes immediate offense and plans retaliation on Son, Boy, and Kid. The film tells the story of the subsequent events that takes place between the two families and the resulting despondency. This small film has a lot more depth than what appears to be the surface. It tells the story of families living in a part of America where few get to see. The struggles and emotions these families experience are expertly conveyed by the film. The cinematography and the score are an excellent supplement to the story. Save this film for a time when you're feeling up to watching a story that will leave you thinking about it for a long time after you view it.

Red_Identity What a great feature film debut. Nichols shows a certain restraint and control of everything on screen here in a way that makes you think he's a pro, even if visually the fllm looks rather simple and to-the-point. The ensemble here is really fantastic, led by an always-reliable Michael Shannon. The film could've easily came off as having escalated way too quickly, and maybe even unrealistic, but Nichols manages to handle everything with restraint and, again, a clear hand of how to demonstrate a story like this realistically. This film certainly is contemplative in its nature and not a 'thrilling" film by any means, and nichols needs to be congratulated for not embracing the violence as just some entertainment.

Dillon Schohr Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols, "Shotgun Stories" tells a tale of Son Hayes (Michael Shannon), who has raised his two younger brothers Boy (Douglas Ligon), and Kid (Barlow Jacobs). Their mother, for her own selfish reason left the boys when their father abandoned the whole family, to start a new life with another women in the same town. Now that the father has passed, Son decides to exchange some hateful words at his funeral, and their father's other sons don't take to kind to it. This starts the family feud of a lifetime. Michael Shannon has to be one of my favorite actors to grace us with his presence in film in this decade. He is one of the most pleasing actors to watch, his subtle way of showing us his pain, and anger rest all in his eye, and jaw movement. It works perfectly. Douglas Ligon and Barlow Jacobs were excellent as the two younger brothers. Ligon's character Boy, lives in his filthy van by choice, and Kid lives in a tent in Son's backyard. When Son's wife leaves him, he lets the two brothers move into his place. Ligon and Jacobs stood their ground next Shannon. Especially Ligon, who has some great heart-felt scenes.This is Jeff Nichols first film, and it could not have been better. Well maybe I could have seen the ending going a little further but that is nothing to really complain about. The writing was superb, and Nichols made the film flow very smoothly. I give Shotgun Stories a 9.5 out 10.P.S.Jeff Nichols next film is called "Take Shelter", and is also stars Michael Shannon. It's about a father who starts having visions of an apocalypse that is about to happen. It looks incredible. Look it up.

cgodburn Shotgun Stories is a film that should be better than it is. The material provides any number of story lines to emerge that would be more convincing than what is actually shot. The movie does have one thing going for it: Michael Shannon. Too long has this great actor sat in the background of American film. Seen most recently in the William Friedkin adaptation of Tracy Letts' "Bug," Mr. Shannon has the ability to hide his intentions better than any other actor around. The only reason to keep watching this movie at all is because you're not exactly sure what he's up to. While watching this film, one can't help but notice that it looks an awful lot like a David Gordon Greene movie. That's a nice touch, except when the end credits finally...finally go up it shows that this much better filmmaker is a co-producer. Had Mr. Greene taken the helm of this "family tragedy" it's possible the end result would be a far better affair. One fine scene exits in the movie, and it centers around a monologue delivered believably by Mr. Shannon. The scene is early on in the film and occurs at a funeral, and the tension between the families and the setting alone prepare you for more well written, well acted scenes that involve the same amount of truth as this one. Unfortunately, those scenes never come. Jeff Nichols structures the film into an old fashioned Greek tragedy that pits brother against brother. The grudge between them comes from a deep seeded hatred for one another stemming from none other than their father. Family bonds and morality are tested, and the film does a decent job of showing rural American life. Nichols himself hails from Arkansas and one would think that his interpretation of this lifestyle is accurate. I won't argue that. The homes in which these people live seem believable enough, and the environment seems like a real place, but when anyone other than Shannon opens their mouth the film borders on parody, making us laugh at these men's schemes rather than making us understand them. It is a story in which these men are trapped by their environment and unreconciled hatred. The funeral scene in the beginning was supposed to solve this, but only fueled the fire. When the guns start blazing and the bodies start dropping, the movie falls into ordinary melodramatic garbage that we've been reading since the beginning of time. Michael Shannon deserves better, and perhaps in the upcoming "Revolutionary Road" he'll finally be recognized. "Shotgun Stories" should have done this, but instead leaves the actor desperately trying to carry everyone else on his back, which he does for a while. Someone better get him some icy hot and put him in a good film right away.