Shotgun Stories
Encyclopedia
Shotgun Stories is a 2007
drama film
about a feud between two sets of half-brothers following the death of their father in rural Arkansas
. The film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols
, and stars Michael Shannon
, Barlow Jacobs, and Glenda Pannell.
) wakes up and gets dressed, revealing that he has scars from a shotgun blast on his back. He meets his younger brothers, Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs), who live in a tent and a van respectively, saying that his wife Annie has left him over his gambling habit and inviting them to live in his house. Son and Kid earn meager livings at a fish farm, where workers take bets on how Son received his scars; Boy is an unsuccessful basketball coach at the local middle school. One night, while Son is researching his gambling system, the boys' estranged mother arrives to announce that their estranged father (from whom she has long been divorced) has just died.
The brothers crash the funeral, where their father's second family is mourning. Son delivers a scathing commentary on their father, especially for callously abandoning them to be raised by their hateful mother, while going off to lovingly raise a second set of sons meanwhile forgetting, for the most part, his first set of sons. In the process, Son nearly starts a brawl with his four half-brothers. The eldest half-brother, Mark (Travis Smith
), vows revenge and starts a chain of violent confrontations. Meanwhile, Annie returns and tries to salvage her relationship with Son, but Son is unwilling to give up gambling. Kid plans on marrying his girlfriend, Cheryl, should he get an expected raise, but worries about providing for her and staying faithful. After Mark kills Boy's dog by leaving a poisonous snake in its water bowl, Kid attacks and kills Mark, but is himself severely injured in the fight and dies in the hospital. Son and Boy are unaware that Mark's brothers Stephen and John were involved in the fight until after Kid's funeral, when an acquaintance named Shampoo tells them. Son then goes to their mother, who is coldly indifferent to everything that is happening, to inform her that Kid has just died, while condemning her for raising her sons to be full of hate toward their half-brothers, before leaving her for the last time.
The confrontations between the remaining brothers escalate, with Son on one side and John and Stephen Hayes on the other side unwilling to let the matter rest, despite their brother Cleaman's attempts to stop the feud. Son and Boy invade their half-brothers' farm and attack Stephen, but are interrupted and hospitalized by the remaining family and other farm workers. Annie and Cheryl are left grieving and bewildered by the continued fighting. Boy purchases a shotgun and holds Cleaman at gunpoint, but hesitates after seeing the man's sons, and leaves. Boy expresses worry that Son will kill himself trying to protect him from the half-brothers. He recalls how Son received his scars while protecting him and Kid.
The second family arms themselves with shotguns on their farm, bracing for a shootout. Boy arrives at the farm unarmed and states that he is done fighting, offering a truce. The less combative half-brothers force Stephen to accept the truce, but he worries that Son will not hold to the agreement. Afterwards, Son awakens from his coma. Boy returns to Son, who recuperates from his injuries. The movie ends with the beginning of fall, with Cleaman seeing his youngest brother John off to college, Boy coaching again, and Son living at home with Annie and their son, Carter. The final scene of the movie shows Son and Boy enjoying a peaceful afternoon on the porch with Carter.
named it the best film of 2008, Philip Martin of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
named it the 3rd best film of 2008, David Edelstein
of New York magazine
named it the 8th best film of 2008, and
Roger Ebert
of Chicago Sun-Times
named it one of the best films of the year.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
about a feud between two sets of half-brothers following the death of their father in rural Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. The film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols
Jeff Nichols
Jeff Nichols is a comedian and writer based in NYC. Nichols was born in Manhattan on the upper-east-side in 1969. Growing up, Nichols struggled with learning disabilities, a speech impediment, dyslexia, ADD, and a mild case of Tourette Syndrome...
, and stars Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
, Barlow Jacobs, and Glenda Pannell.
Plot
Son Hayes (Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
) wakes up and gets dressed, revealing that he has scars from a shotgun blast on his back. He meets his younger brothers, Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs), who live in a tent and a van respectively, saying that his wife Annie has left him over his gambling habit and inviting them to live in his house. Son and Kid earn meager livings at a fish farm, where workers take bets on how Son received his scars; Boy is an unsuccessful basketball coach at the local middle school. One night, while Son is researching his gambling system, the boys' estranged mother arrives to announce that their estranged father (from whom she has long been divorced) has just died.
The brothers crash the funeral, where their father's second family is mourning. Son delivers a scathing commentary on their father, especially for callously abandoning them to be raised by their hateful mother, while going off to lovingly raise a second set of sons meanwhile forgetting, for the most part, his first set of sons. In the process, Son nearly starts a brawl with his four half-brothers. The eldest half-brother, Mark (Travis Smith
Travis Smith
Travis Smith is the name of:* Travis Smith , fictional character in the TV series Oz* Travis Smith , ex drummer of Trivium* Travis Smith , former Major League Baseball player* Travis Smith , heavy metal graphic artist...
), vows revenge and starts a chain of violent confrontations. Meanwhile, Annie returns and tries to salvage her relationship with Son, but Son is unwilling to give up gambling. Kid plans on marrying his girlfriend, Cheryl, should he get an expected raise, but worries about providing for her and staying faithful. After Mark kills Boy's dog by leaving a poisonous snake in its water bowl, Kid attacks and kills Mark, but is himself severely injured in the fight and dies in the hospital. Son and Boy are unaware that Mark's brothers Stephen and John were involved in the fight until after Kid's funeral, when an acquaintance named Shampoo tells them. Son then goes to their mother, who is coldly indifferent to everything that is happening, to inform her that Kid has just died, while condemning her for raising her sons to be full of hate toward their half-brothers, before leaving her for the last time.
The confrontations between the remaining brothers escalate, with Son on one side and John and Stephen Hayes on the other side unwilling to let the matter rest, despite their brother Cleaman's attempts to stop the feud. Son and Boy invade their half-brothers' farm and attack Stephen, but are interrupted and hospitalized by the remaining family and other farm workers. Annie and Cheryl are left grieving and bewildered by the continued fighting. Boy purchases a shotgun and holds Cleaman at gunpoint, but hesitates after seeing the man's sons, and leaves. Boy expresses worry that Son will kill himself trying to protect him from the half-brothers. He recalls how Son received his scars while protecting him and Kid.
The second family arms themselves with shotguns on their farm, bracing for a shootout. Boy arrives at the farm unarmed and states that he is done fighting, offering a truce. The less combative half-brothers force Stephen to accept the truce, but he worries that Son will not hold to the agreement. Afterwards, Son awakens from his coma. Boy returns to Son, who recuperates from his injuries. The movie ends with the beginning of fall, with Cleaman seeing his youngest brother John off to college, Boy coaching again, and Son living at home with Annie and their son, Carter. The final scene of the movie shows Son and Boy enjoying a peaceful afternoon on the porch with Carter.
Cast
- Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
: Son Hayes - Douglas Ligon: Boy Hayes
- Barlow Jacobs: Kid Hayes
- Natalie CanerdayNatalie CanerdayNatalie Suzanne Canerday is an American actress.Canerday is a native of Russellville, Arkansas. After attending Hendrix College , she began her motion picture career as a production secretary for the television feature The Tuskegee Airmen, then made minor appearances in films such as...
: Nicole - Glenda Pannell: Annie Hayes
- Lynnsee Provence: Stephen Hayes
- Michael Abbott Jr.: Cleaman Hayes
- Travis Smith: Mark Hayes
- G. Alan Wilkins : Shampoo Douglas
Critical reception
Shotgun Stories appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Bill White of the Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
named it the best film of 2008, Philip Martin of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell...
named it the 3rd best film of 2008, David Edelstein
David Edelstein
David Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
of New York magazine
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
named it the 8th best film of 2008, and
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
named it one of the best films of the year.