an interesting story that slowly developes amidst the cotton fields of rural Arkansas, Shotgun Stories is a tale of deepseated hatred and its eventual effects on the lives of two intertwined families.
The drama and tension escalate with each encounter following the death of the man who fathered both families (having
walked out on the first, and then, finding religion, turned his life around - which does the first set of boys no good whatsoever). Raised to hate the "other" family by a cold hearted mother, the boys seem as listless as the dying town around them - unable to get past their torturous upbringing.
A powerful performance by Shannon as Son, the eldest of the clan; an intelligent man with some serious flaws.
The film is compelling in spite of the numerous fades to black; and the pacing tells the story at it's own southern drawl of a pace - and yet it succeeds for those same reasons.
The middle son finally has had enough and ends the feud, reasoning that they all have family that they don't want to lose (and lives, for that matter, although in Boy's case you'd have to use that term very loosely).
The malaise is almost palpable, and equally as important a statment as the feud that compels the action.
The scene that kind of says it all concerning this film, comes when Son drives up to his mother's house and matter of factly tells her of the death of her youngest. She has no reaction whatsoever, as if she never cared about her children at all. Sensing this, Son lays the blame at her feet, telling her that it was she who raised her boys to hate the other family, and it has brought nothing but sorrow and destruction.
July 19, 2009
Top Critic
