DVD- Shotgun Stories

In life, there are two ways to go - the right way, and the wrong way. Sometimes, if you live long enough, and if your smart enough, and you have great people in your life, than if you start out going the wrong way, you can turn your life around, and steer it towards the right way. But what happens when some of the collateral damage you leave in your wake is flesh and bone? And how are those people supposed to feel about you all of the sudden becoming the righteous one, after years of neglect or abuse. So goes the plot of Jeff Nichols incredible Southern revenge tale Shotgun Stories.

Set in rural Arkansas, Shotgun Stories is a tale of two sets of brothers, birthed by two different women, by the same father. The first set, named Son, Kid, and Boy, were the products of drinking, apathy, and, eventually hatred and abuse by their father. The second set were born and raised after he had abandoned his first family, quit drinking and found Jesus. When this nameless patriarch dies, Son, Kid, and Boy show up at the funeral, and Son makes some damming remarks about his dear old dad, which royally pisses off his half brothers. As tensions escalate, Son, Kid, and Boy become targets of their half brothers hatred for them, and easy to turn to violence themselves.

Produced by David Gordon Green and Lisa Muskat, Shotgun Stories has some of the languorous feel of Green's George Washington, along with its sense of placement in the south. This is the REAL south, not the Hollywood south. Michael Shannon, as the oldest Hayes boy, Son, brings a menacing presence to the screen, one that has no problem hating his half brothers, no problem plotting revenge, no problem bringing them pain. Douglas Ligon also stands out as Boy, the pacifist of the group, if you want to call him that, who would rather just go to work as a basketball coach, and live in a van down by the river (and no, that isn't an SNL reference, Boy actually does live in a van, down by the river). Michael Abbott Jr. also sticks out as Cleaman Hayes, the oldest of the second set of Hayes boys, who doesn't want any trouble, but is willing to bring on the pain when he's pushed.

Nichols' did an exceptional job with the script, and his actors really bring to life, in a very palpable way, the hatred that these characters feel for each other, and the sense of claustrophobia you can get when your worst enemy lives in the same little town that you do. His brother, Ben Nichols, lead singer for Lucero, did an amazing job on the score as well, and its a real shame that the score hasn't been released, even if its just on iTunes. Shotgun Stories is a great movie to see. The pain that these characters feel, the anger, the hatred, the sorrow, the regret, is all extremely palpable. It's just about the best you can expect from a Southern revenge tale, and may even be better than its producers film of the same genre - Undertow (though, Josh Lucas and Jamie Bell really make that film, so... we'll call it even). 

Snow Angels

David Gordon Green has made a reputation for himself over almost a decade of filmmaking. In that time, his three previous films have won both critical and audience acclaim (to be fair, when I say audience, I generally mean the independent film watching audience. None of his films have been fully mainstream). His first film George Washington, was an epic of small town ennui as experienced through a small group of poor friends who come to realize that their circumstances have trapped them in their lives. His follow up, All The Real Girls, was a dissection of love between two people who are not ready for it. His third film, Undertow, was the story of two young brothers on the run from their psychotic uncle. Now, he gives us his fourth film - Snow Angels.

Snow Angels stars Kate Beckinsale as Annie, a single mom working in a Chinese restaurant to support her little girl. She's estranged from her husband, Glen, played by Sam Rockwell, who is desperate to revive his marriage and his family life. Annie works with Barb (Amy Sedaris) and is sleeping with Barb's husband Nate (played by Nicky Katt). She also works with Arthur, a high school senior played by Michael Angarano, whom Annie used to babysit when he was young. Arthur meets and falls in love with the new girl, Lila, played by Olivia Thirlby.

Snow Angels is an incredibly dense, and sometimes hard to follow story. Green adapted the work from the Stewart O'Nan novel (the first time he has not directed an original work), and you can tell that the story is much more suited to the sprawling novel form. As a film, it often feels like Green is trying to fit as much of the novel into the allotted two hours as he possibly can, often times leaving the audience feeling like we are jumping from moment to moment, instead of witnessing a thoughtful, and thought out, story. The acting is top notch from everyone involved, except Sedaris, who sometimes falls a little flat. Thirlby is especially promising as Lila, the young nerdy girl who falls for Arthur. Angarano is perfect as Arthur, a disaffected young kid who just wants to find happiness. He's not concerned with money, popularity, or any of the things most teenagers want - just love.

Annie and Glenn's relationship is the other half of this story, with intense performances by Beckinsale and Rockwell. I can't really go into their relationship in this review, as it would give away part of the plot, but, needless to say, it's very interesting to see Annie and Glenn's relationship collapsing as Arthur and Lila's relationship is beginning.

One wonders how much interference the studio may have had in Snow Angels. The film seems a lot more scattered than Green's previous efforts. Of course, as I said before, it may have just been Green trying to stuff way more plot into two hours than is reasonable. 

I was a little disappointed with the cinematography, as well. Green re-teamed with his long time collaborator Tim Orr, but Snow Angels doesn't look anything like his first three films, instead looking more like almost every other Hollywood film. There's none of that natural, unkempt photography of the earlier films, the Mallick-esque beauty.

All in all, Snow Angels is worth a watch as a piece of Green's filmography. Outside of that, though, I'm not so sure you need to spend your time on it. There's nothing particularly amazing about it, unlike his previous films. I am looking forward to his next film, though, Pineapple Express, which looks hilarious.

David Gordon Greene - Asserting his independence from independents

David Gordon Greene has made quite a name for himself over the past eight years, or so, since the 2000 release of his debut feature George Washington. Greene had heaps of praise laid on him for the lyrical poeticism of the film, many even going so far as to refer to him as the successor to Terrence Mallick. With his follow up, All The Real Girls, Greene explored some of the same lyrical poetics, and a similar visual style, though he used the backdrop of young love as his story, instead of the ennui of small town youngsters, trapped in a world they will never emerge from.

Both films were amazing feats, done on incredibly small budgets, with amazing acting, and the gorgeous cinematography of Greene's NCSA classmate Tim Orr. His next film, however, would try to incorporate some of his style into a more mainstream thriller. Undertow is the story of two brothers, on the run from their psychotic uncle after he kills their father. Undertow is definitely a departure from the glacial, yet beautiful, worlds of his previous two films. It is raw, and it is dirty to the point where it almost feels like artifice. I remember when Undertow came out, a lot of critics and fans were crying "Sellout".

His follow up to Undertow, a film called Snow Angels, I have not seen,unfortunately, so I can't comment on it. I do know, however, that it has gotten fair to bad reviews, and seems like the sort of film that will probably end up being buried by the studio on DVD.

His next film, coming out in a few weeks, is the Seth Rogen (Knocked Up/Superbad) penned comedy-thriller Pineapple Express. I say thriller loosely, as their is action involved in the film, but it definitely comes off more as a comedy than anything. It is the story of two pot smokers, one of which witnesses an execution style murder, while trying to get high. The two friends go on the lamb, when the killer finds out who they are, and sends some goons to hunt them down and kill them. 

And most of you that have seen Greene's work are saying, "Really?". Really. I love the trailer for Pineapple Express, and I have to say that if Seth Rogen co-wrote Superbad, and co-wrote Pineapple with his same writing partner, I think we are in for one hilarious ride. But why David Gordon Greene? He does seem like an awkward fit for a stoner comedy.

If you're looking for the back story, I don't have it. I have no idea why Greene took the directors position, but I can only assume that it was because after George Washington and All The Real Girls, which were incredibly similiar in style, that Greene has been looking for some way to break away from the expectations that film critics and audience members are putting on him. And why shouldn't he? A director is not unlike an actor, in that he (or she) wants to try out as many different avenues of their craft as is humanly possible. No one wants to get stuck doing the same kind of films every time (well, John Carpenter doesn't seem to have a problem with sticking to a single genre, but...). Even George Romero, the man who essentially invented the modern day zombie film, refused to cash in on his success with Night of the Living Dead for years, because he was afraid of being typecast as "The Zombie Guy". Of course, that's probably not the best example, seeing as how he did eventually get typecast that way (I mean, c'mon... who has even seen There's Always Vanilla, or heard of Knightriders or The Crazies?).

Personally, I'm looking forward to Pineapple Express. I'm looking forward to Greene spreading his wings, and seeing what he can do outside of his first three films. I have loved all of the films he's made, and look forward to seeing him try new things and (hopefully) succeed. I think he is an incredibly talented director who has a real gift at, not only working with actors, but creating a visual experience with his crew to put up on the screen.