USA | 2007 | Directed by Jeff Nichols
Logline: Three grown brothers bring a years-long hatred against four half-brothers to boiling point after they make an unannounced appearance at the funeral of their father’s.
Simmering like a Southern stew, violence seething under the surface and the characterisation intensity of a Scorsese gangster flick, this dark rustic tale of a blood feud between two sets of half-brothers in the state of Arkansas is a modern American classic that has echoes of the tranquil beauty of Terrence Malick’s Badlands and the tragedy of a Shakespearean play.
This was the first movie of Michael Shannon’s where I took notice of him. Then I saw William Friedkin’s Bug and he immediately became one of my new favourite actors. He commands the screen with a brooding intensity, and you can’t take your eyes off of him, just as a young Sean Penn and Martin Sheen did the same.
Jeff Nichols’ screenplay unfolds with the grace and careful pacing of a novel, yet as the director he imbues the film with punctuation that reflects the landscape; the cotton fields and dusty backroads, the straw sun setting, and those lazy porch afternoons suppin’ cold beer and watching the world go by. Curiously, despite its sensationalist title, a shotgun is only ever fired once.
The Hayes brothers, Son (Shannon), Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs), weren’t even given proper names by their loser father. Their young mother hated them for the dog-eared card life dealt her. The four half-brothers were given normal names and had the privilege of working the land, while Son works at a fishery, Boy lives out of his decrepit van, and Kid has a tent pitched in Son’s backyard.
Son has a wife Annie (Glenda Pannell) and son, and it becomes apparent that it is the children of these brothers than might be the saving grace that will prevent the brothers from systematically killing each other over a hatred that should’ve been buried many years earlier. But old habits die hard. Annie provides a peripheral dramatic edge of reason and anxiety, while Cleaman Hayes (Michael Abbot Jr.), the sombre second eldest half-brother, and Boy put the reasoning into precarious practice.
While Jeff Nichols doesn’t opt for any showpony directorial flourishes with the visual narrative he opts for eliciting brilliant performances from his mostly unknown cast. Apparently the bulk of the photography was shot in 2004. The soundtrack is suitably mellow fitting snugly, yet contrasting with the slow-burn thriller elements of this understated masterpiece of the ironies of love, hatred, retribution and resignation.
I look forward to Jeff Nichols next dramatic feature, Goat, with a growing anticipation.
TRAILER:
Shotgun Stories DVD is courtesy of Madman Entertainment, many thanks!
Gosh, I’ve never even heard of this, but I’m intrigued. I have to agree with you about Shannon. His performance in Bug was excruciatingly perfect. I love that movie.
I’ll give this one a try.
Hi Natalie,
my first commenter!
By all means check this amazing film, if you like the work of Shannon. All the other actors, male and female, are excellent.