Shotgun Stories

Introduction

Knowing that, as a boxer, his memory was likely to go earlier than most, George Foreman made the practical decision to name each of his 5 sons George! In Shotgun Stories, Mr. Hayes made the equally unimaginative decision to name his male offspring Son, Boy and Kid, before running out and leaving them with, as Son described, 'a hateful woman'. He then went on to remarry and sire another four boys, to whom he gave proper names and a decent upbringing.

The film concentrates on the three elder Hayes brothers, with Son as the breadwinner due to his job on a fish farm, where the other workers bet on why he has shotgun pellets in his back. When his partner walks out on him because he won't stop gambling, he invites his two brothers to move out of their tent and van and into the house.

When Son finds out that his father has died, he and his two brothers go to the funeral and Son makes a speech saying exactly what he thought of his father, before spitting on the coffin. This starts a slow burning feud between the two sets of half-brothers that will inevitably become violent.

Video

A very nice picture, using the cotton fields and wide vistas of Arkansas to good effect.

Audio

Out of the Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 options, I chose the surround and it's perfectly clear, even with the slightly mumbled southern drawl, but shockingly there are no subtitles available. The score, by Tennessee rock band Lucero, perfectly fits the tone of the film.

Extra Features

Just the film's original trailer, though the menu is preceded by a skippable trailer for The Escapist.

Conclusion

The debut feature from Arkansas native Jeff Nichols, who also wrote and was a producer, Shotgun Stories is a deliberately slow-paced film without being boring. An equally appropriate title would have been 'There Will Be Blood', as the violence between the two sets of Hayes brothers is certain from the funeral on.

In the main role of Son, Michael Shannon is very impressive and the rest of the cast do not disappoint. Nichols uses his local knowledge to give the dialogue and mise-en-scène a real sense of authenticity. The film could have been really dour and serious but Nichols injects some humour such as Boy shorting out part of his dashboard by trying to wire a whole air conditioning unit into the cigarette lighter with a result that the radio goes on and off at intermittent periods and, when he does get the unit working, the three brothers sit outside on lawn chairs enjoying the cool breeze.

This is a film for patient viewers and it's only the lack of extra material that counts against a purchase - I really enjoyed it, but a rental is probably the best option.