Shotgun Stories

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Shotgun Stories

PG-13

2007

1h 32m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Backed by siblings Kid (Barlow Jacobs) and Boy (Douglas Ligon), Son Hayes (Michael Shannon) tells the attendees at his father's funeral that he and his brothers hated the dead man, then spits on his grave. This triggers a battle with the siblings' half brothers, which soon leaves Kid dead and Son seriously hurt. As the half brothers stockpile weapons for what they assume will be a deadly encounter, Boy visits them and suggests an end to the fighting.

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Critics Consensus

Thanks to a talented cast and its uncommon depth, Nichols' debut manages to rise above its overly familiar plot.

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Leo Goldsmith

IndieWire

08/08/2009

There is much to "Shotgun Stories" that elevates it above the fray of Green derivatives and unflattering categorizations, bolstered by a roster of naturalistic, fully assimilated performances, led by "Bug"'s now ubiquitous Michael Shannon.

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Eddie Cockrell

Variety

10/18/2008

A precisely modulated yet cumulatively forceful story of a rural family feud turned deadly.

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Steve Rose

Guardian

10/18/2008

4/5

Set in rural Arkansas, Jeff Nichols' relaxed, distinctive debut revels in the milieu of its redneck characters, but injects their rural half-blood feud with an almost mythic quality.

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Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

06/19/2024

3/4

Comparisons to Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces and David Cronenberg's A History of Violence might seem overblown, but they're not that far off the mark, and those weren't debuts (though Rafelson's only previous movie was the Monkees oddity Head).

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/25/2022

4.5/5

...wonderfully written, brilliantly conceived, and cleverly crafted.

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Eve Tushnet

Patheos

05/23/2022

There’s not much here beyond the mythologically-rich setup. Once the plot is in motion, it goes through its paces and that’s all.

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jeffrey w

@RT18790408 07/05/2024

Everything in this movie seem to be done with how the remarkable "charm" of small town life can be for some. A father's choice to leave one set of boys, start another family, and end up have more boys comes to natural boiling point that his ex-wife bred it to be in the first set of sons when he passes and a feud ensues. The characters are well written and even more so crafted by the actors playing them. The story written and direction is the same and is not complicated with numerous unnecessary plot twists or burdened by the "list of things that could possibly happen" all wrapped up in one single movie but would never all happen to one group of people. The action is builds and flows so well to match the story and music score follows it well and matches it intensity. In the end you feel like you have lived with them and all you want to do is tell the first set to stop listening to Shampoo, but listen to me and when you have time to sit and watch a thinking movie choose this one. I have no idea how I missed this movie this long!

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georgan g

@RT98616417 01/15/2023

Brotherly jealousy is taken to the extreme. The bad seeds their parents planted grow to be 7 angry men. Rather a bland ending, but "happy."

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09/04/2018

Slow as Molasses!!! Monotone the whole... damn... movie...

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roger g

@RT94256209 07/28/2018

You have to wonder why and how step-brothers can hate one another to the point of death. This story will tell you how.

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06/20/2017

It does have a very familiar plot, but I am a fan of Jeff Nichols' work, and this is overall a good film for this guy to start off with.

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02/17/2017

The least explosive film you could get out of a title like Shotgun Stories, Jeff Nichols' subdued storytelling is really quite beautiful. It's a revenge film at its core, but much of the film is simply a quaint look at lives in blue collar America. It's lots of little conversations between trying to fix a beaten-down van or a game of basketball. Michael Shannon leads the film with a quiet intensity that, in a way, parallels this story. Directorial debuts don't get much better than this.

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Jeff Nichols

Director

Michael Shannon

Son Hayes

Douglas Ligon

Boy Hayes

Barlow Jacobs

Kid Hayes

Natalie Canerday

Nicole

Glenda Pannell

Annie Hayes

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Definitive Michael Shannon Performances

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Synopsis

Backed by siblings Kid (Barlow Jacobs) and Boy (Douglas Ligon), Son Hayes (Michael Shannon) tells the attendees at his father's funeral that he and his brothers hated the dead man, then spits on his grave. This triggers a battle with the siblings' half brothers, which soon leaves Kid dead and Son seriously hurt. As the half brothers stockpile weapons for what they assume will be a deadly encounter, Boy visits them and suggests an end to the fighting.

Director: Jeff Nichols
Producer: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols
Screenwriter: Jeff Nichols
Distributor: International Film Circuit [us]
Production Co: Muskat Filmed Properties, Upload Films
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|Violence|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 2007, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 26, 2008
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $45.7K
Runtime: 1h 32m