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Beautiful, moving film.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

How simple and yet powerful this picture was. I mean it is low-budget, its Jeff Nichols debut picture! But you can't even tell. Its simple and it gets to the point. Most of the story surrounds familiar quarrels and how it unfolds and gets out of control. But the way it captures an aspect of a certain American society is just spot on. The whole mood throughout the entire picture is really down, and gloomy but it still allows you to go along through the movie really sucked into the movie. This film hurts, it is not a feel good movie, but that doesn't matter, its really just about an affect Nichols wanted to achieve and it was so brilliant. This is film is about pain and its so damn beautiful

Shotgun Stories tells the simplest of simple tales, dealing with the progression of an extended family feud – and with a title like that you know it won't be resolved with a game of rock-paper-scissors.If an "Urban" setting is nowadays code inferring "a ghetto" or "poor black" setting, then Shotgun Stories is set in a "Rural" environment in Arkansas, by which I mean "redneck" or "poor white". In fact I don't recall seeing a single non-white person in the film, even in the background – aside from the basketball scenes – is that racist? In any case it's true.By "Poor" I mean that asking to borrow a guy's VCR comes with a cost – of a bag of Doritos.I mean that a guy lives in a tent in the yard of his brother.I mean the other brother lives in a van on the riverfront and spends half the film trying to fix his tapedeck.When a local man dies it obviously impacts the community, especially the man's family – only in this case the deceased had two families both with the name Hayes. It is explained that in his early years the man all refer to as "Pa" ran out on his wife and three young kids, all of whom he treated awfully.The man then found religion and remarried raising four new children in a loving family. (For fairly obvious reasons) the ex raised the three boys to despise their old man and his new family, then as soon as they were old enough she left them to fend for themselves.The jilted lads, all now in their 20s, are named Son, Boy and Kid – seriously, and the film follows proceedings almost exclusively from their point of view.Son is the senior and most successful of the trio, he has his own home and family, though his wife has left taking their son due to Son's gambling issues (but he has a system lady!). Son works at the local fish farm.Boy has no job to speak of, he is the one in the van on the riverfront, and he voluntarily coaches some local boys on a basketball team.Kid lives in a tent in Son's yard, where he is content, he also lives on the fish farm and is romancing a young woman, though he is concerned that his current residence, income and future prospects don't bode well for a successful marriage. He also has a prize mullet.Things come to a head when the three boys crash the funeral that they weren't invited to. Some bitter but carefully chosen words are said and a fracas is narrowly avoided – but not forgotten.The other four more favoured kids, again in their 20s and late teens, feel disrespected and take it upon themselves to "set thangs raaaiiight".Over the next few days warnings are issued, scuffles are started and extinguished, and tensions simmer… then a dog dies.A depressing conclusion was almost inevitable from the early goings of this film, and indeed there is much violence, though not much occurs on screen and surprisingly little of it is related to firearms.It isn't the violence that makes Shotgun Stories so good though, it is the adherence to tone and the performances from all featured actors, Boy is obviously the most reticent about becoming embroiled in proceedings and is in fact a fairly timid man, Kid is a little hotheaded but genuinely concerned for the future.Above it all is Son. With the grim set jaw Buzz Lightyear and almost a Sling Blade mutter, Son walks like an old man and has a furrowed brow reminiscent of Sam Eagle. None of these ingredients seem to suggest "cool" but somehow he manages to exude confidence and capability. Son doesn't talk a lot and when he does he is all business and people – especially his brothers – listen.It is quite fitting that Shotgun Stories has less a finale than a finishing, as events more peter out than rise and build towards a climax. Regardless of the lack of flash or big explosions though this is an excellent character study and a compelling story, and is worthy of greater attention and recognition.Final Rating – 8 / 10. An excellent "little" film. Never have a few days in the life of an extended redneck family seemed more compelling.

Here is a good film where the director makes artistic choices, shapes the material, and never goes for the sensational. The acting is very natural and the setting is interesting (small-town Arkansas.) But, having seen it two weeks ago, I've already forgotten most of the narrative. In too many scenes, the dialogue is just too ordinary and the antagonism between the characters is too plateaued. The basic plot is a blood feud between two sets of half-brothers. Outside of the feud, their lives seem to center on tapedecks, burgers, and boozing. You get the parched quality of small-town Ozarks life, but that doesn't necessarily lend to dramatic form. The scars on lead character Son's back could have been a recurring motif (and meant more); in the director's commentary you learn why that plan was abandoned. A good film which lacks the extra fire that makes you want to return to it.

This was a great film. I expected slow and uninteresting. But I really loved it. Michael Shannon is a stud. This guy is going to be huge. Great performance. I'm shocked he didn't get Oscar nod consideration for this - but given the apparent lack of viewers, it's understandable I supposed. Nichols has a great script. He sticks to his desire to battle convention and really let the story unfold slowly. I was really impressed. I've read other comments on here about people becoming frustrated with the nod to Terrence Malick - and I completely understand that, and I suspect there will be several more nods to Malick thanks to the NC School of the Arts, but this was a great movie. I've been watching David Gordon Green's movies this week and now this one - and they both attended the same school and I suspect there was a lot of Malick-like influence from the professors.