Thanks Nebs.

This is powerful and deeply affecting filmmaking. It's essentially a pulpy genre picture that is graced with an abundance of restraint and artistry. Director Jeff Nichols is definitely treading familiar, DGG-inspired territory (Gordon Green was one of the producers), but he hits all the right notes and proves to be a master at building sustained, genuine tension.

I love movies with a sparse narrative and minimalist dialogue, where the details and intricacies of the characters are laid out visually, and Shotgun Stories does this expertly. There is some serious thematic heavy lifting throughout the film, and instead of beating us over the head with trite and hamfisted dialogue, we slowly pick up on the themes by what is shown to us. The dichotomy between the two families, one comprised of middle-to-upper class farmers, and the other decidedly low-class comprised of menial labor, minimum wage workers is handled with gorgeous aesthetic tips of the cap. The underlying, seething frustration and hatred that exists between these two clans is distinctly American, and the rolling cotton fields and industrial degeneration of Southeast Arkansas is the perfect setting for it.

This is a beautiful and haunting parable concerning the never-ending cycle of violence, paternal abandonment, and the frustration and desolation of the American ideal. It's also a crackerjack thriller with suffocating intensity. What more could you ask for?