Shotgun Stories

The sins of the father are visited upon two sets of half-brothers in Shotgun Stories, a carefully modulated drama from first-time writer-director Jeff Nichols that plays like a revenge tale rooted in the conventions of the American Western, while also revealing unexpected grace in characters burdened by grief, resentment, and desperation in a dead-end corner of southeastern Arkansas. During his violent, alcoholic past, the newly deceased Cleaman Hayes sired and later abandoned three sons, never bothering to even give them proper names. Now, Son (Michael Shannon), Kid (Barlow Jacobs, and Boy (Douglas Ligon) are struggling in the shadow of their father's second family, whose middle-class comfort is a festering insult to the first set of Hayes brothers. When Son crashes Cleaman's funeral and angrily spits into the open coffin, simmering tensions ignite, and Cleaman Jr. (Michael Abbott Jr.) vows that he and his brothers will exact their revenge. What follows is a cycle of violence that actually began years earlier, its disputed origins as mysterious as the buckshot scars that cover Son's back. Boasting nuanced performances from a well-chosen cast, this underrated indie gem is recommended. (J. Shannon)