CINEMA: Shotgun Stories
June 7, 2008This beautifully directed film contains great acting, some wonderful cinematography and a haunting score, but suffers from the fact it is just like watching paint dry.
Slow doesn’t come into it, as it proceeds at a snail’s pace to its inevitable and tragic end. If you stay with it there’s much to enjoy as this tale of a blood feud between two sets of half-brothers explores the concepts of loyalty and betrayal in fine detail, and it commendably doesn’t tag on a happy ending or try to neatly tie all the strands together.
The finale is messy, just like the lives of the three oldest brothers: Son, Boy and Kid (Michael Shannon, Douglas Ligon and Barlow Jacobs) left behind with their embittered mother when their violent, alcoholic father deserted them. He managed to sober up and start a new family, but the boys who got left behind have physical and psychological scars that will never heal.
Had director Jeff Nichols upped the pace of proceedings he may have lost some of the subtle nuances contained in the film, but he would also have made it far easier to watch.
Dee Pilgrim
