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Movies / On DVD / American Gun
American Gun

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American Gun (2006)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:11

Rotten:18

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: Despite its intriguing premise, this earnest anti-gun polemic is too melodramatic to resonate.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violent content and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:2006

Synopsis: AMERICAN GUN is a powerful series of interwoven storylines that bring to light how the proliferation of guns in America dramatically affect and shape the every day lives of its citizens. The film... AMERICAN GUN is a powerful series of interwoven storylines that bring to light how the proliferation of guns in America dramatically affect and shape the every day lives of its citizens. The film opens at the start of another day in a Virginia gun store, where owner Carl (Donald Sutherland), continues to sidestep controversy while running the shop he loves. His newest employee is his granddaughter Mary Ann (Linda Cardellini), a college student pressured to spend a semester in the family business. Despite her misgivings, curiosity overcomes her as she is slowly seduced by the weapons she sells. Across the country in Oregon, Janet (Marcia Gay Harden) is suffering through a television interview marking the third anniversary of her older son's high school shooting rampage and suicide. As a single mother, she worries for her younger son David (Christopher Marquette) who is now the same age his brother was when he committed the terrible acts. While dealing with his own rage and grief, David quietly falls for Tally (Nikki Reed), the new girl in town. Meanwhile, Frank, a middle-aged deputy, watches the interview intently; still haunted by vicious accusations that he could have prevented the tragedy. On Chicago's gritty west side, principal Carl (Forest Whitaker) struggles to keep his violent inner-city high school from self destructing. His wife Sara (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) desperately fears for the safety of their young son. When ace student Jay (Arlen Escarpeta) is caught hiding a handgun, both principal and student find themselves facing decisions they never wanted to make. --© IFC Films [More]

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Nikki Reed, Marcia Gay Harden

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Nikki Reed, Marcia Gay Harden, Linda Cardellini, Tony Goldwyn, Christopher George Marquette, Arlen Escarpeta, Charles Duckworth, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Amanda Seyfried, Melissa Chessington Leo, Schuyler Fisk

Director: Aric Avelino

Director: Aric Avelino
Studio: IFC Films

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Release:

Aug 29, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for American Gun

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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The acting is pro enough to keep your blood up, but the reverb is minimal.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/21/06
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...more like talking points for a film than a finished product. The effects of violence and the gun trade are examined, but little light is shed.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/24/06
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Film Journal International

While this is not exactly a hopeful movie, it's a polished exercise in the kind of social commentary that can wake people up.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/24/06
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The guns seem to have been shoved in various characters' pockets as afterthought, and Avelino's interlocking stories never click.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
04/07/06
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite a few effective moments, Gun ... never makes the big statement it seems to be reaching for.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
04/21/06
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

[Avelino] shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
04/06/06
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While the movie feigns objectivity, it’s clear from the start that, for Avelino and co-writer Steven Bagatourian, there’s not a scenario imaginable in which having a firearm on hand would be preferable to not having one.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/23/06
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

Many guns litter this multicharacter examination of the insidious ways firearms have become a fixture in American life, but only one is ever fired and with devastating results.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/22/06
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Rather than blast us with a strong polemic, Avelino chooses to trace what are often the everyday ramifications of living in an armed society.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
04/14/06
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

This stridently sorrowful polemic against the proliferation of handguns in the United States consists of three fictional vignettes.

comment Comment
03/22/06
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[T]his is no bit of cheap exploitation created merely to rake in some dough. But purity of motives aside, the film simply isn't very good.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
04/25/06
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Aside from a few moments of quiet pathos that ring true, Avelino's directorial debut is a calculated piece of cinematic outrage marred by on-the-nose dialogue and melodramatic contrivance.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
03/24/06
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com

'American Gun' takes the wise step of looking not at a particular school massacre, but at those intimately affected.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/18/06
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Skittishly paced and dramatically diffuse, American Gun misfires.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/08/05
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Actually PAY MONEY to see this in a theater? No way.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
03/24/06
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

It isn't trite or strident - it doesn't shout or pound the desk - and, in a way, its own thoughtfulness is its worst enemy.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
05/19/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It's a bit like watching a weaker version of Crash, with fewer coincidences.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/21/06
John McMurtrie
John McMurtrie
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

takes too many shortcuts and easy-outs in exploring the issue

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/29/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

...an overblown and surprisingly tedious polemic.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/26/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

While not a perfect movie by any means -- a few scenes feel forced -- there is plenty to recommend it, even beyond the truly great performances.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/06/06
Jessica Reaves
Jessica Reaves
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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