Small Town Film Series: Shotgun Stories
The series continues with Shotgun Stories (2007), which hinges on the death of a father, and the revenge of his sons. The sons he abandoned, a band of misfit brothers headed by Son (Michael Shannon), crash the funeral, which prompts the sons he had with his new wife to seek revenge. While the “dead-ass town” that the two branches of the family share is vague and seemingly sprawling, their blood feud binds them claustrophobically together. It’s an age-old problem, the town that just isn’t big enough for the both of them. A Shakespearean climax inevitably awaits these angry, grieving men. Nichols interweaves the action with slow moments weighed down by all that has been left unsaid. Shot in fifteen days on 35mm with a crew of just fifteen, this lithe production was able to shoot on location relatively unnoticed, allowing the film to capture place with such specificity. Shotgun Stories is Nichols’ debut feature. It was co-produced by David Gordon Green, whose film George Washington is also part of this series, and shot by cinematographer Adam Stone, who worked on Gordon Green’s film. (Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes)
Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.
https://www.clarkart.edu/event/detail/2802-92166
Image: Shotgun Stories, Jeff Nichols, 2007
Other films in the Small Town Film Series:
The Magnificent Ambersons-Thursday, March 6, 2025
George Washington-Thursday, March 13, 2025
Dazed and Confused-Thursday, March 20, 2025
Shadow of a Doubt-Thursday, March 27, 2025
Shotgun Stories-Thursday, April 3, 2025
Stellet Licht-Thursday, April 10, 2025
The Last Picture Show-Thursday, April 17, 2025