"Shotgun Stories": an inheritance of rivalry and revenge

The sins of the father are visited upon two sets of half-brothers in "Shotgun Stories," a carefully modulated drama that dares to resist the violence suggested by its title. There will be blood and death before this family feud is over, but promising first-time writer-director Jeff Nichols honors the integrity of his conflicted characters while twisting their blood ties with escalating tension.

On the surface, Nichols' contemporary story plays like any other revenge tale rooted in the conventions of the American Western. Closer inspection reveals unexpected grace in characters burdened by grief, resentment and desperation in a dead-end corner of southeastern Arkansas. With hints of casual humor to lighten the load, "Shotgun Stories" favors a literary depth that's equal parts Southern gothic, Shakespearean tragedy and Raymond Carver-esque character study.

The funeral of Cleamon Hayes sets the stage for interfamilial warfare. During his violent, alcoholic past, Cleamon sired and later abandoned three sons, never bothering to 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: Cleamon had gotten sober, found Jesus, remarried and raised four more sons on a nearby cotton and soybean farm. Their middle-class comfort is a festering insult to the first set of Hayes brothers, whose futures hold little if any promise.

When Son (with brothers in tow) crashes Cleamon's funeral and angrily spits into the open coffin, simmering tensions ignite and Cleamon Jr. (Michael Abbott Jr.) vows that he and his brothers will exact their revenge. What follows is a cycle of violence that began years earlier, its disputed origins as mysterious as the buckshot scars that cover Son's back.

A sharp-eyed Arkansas native, Nichols composes widescreen landscapes to suggest inescapable fate. His stylistic restraint recalls the low-key aesthetic of indie-film auteur David Gordon Green (who serves as co-producer here and, like Nichols and cinematographer Adam Stone, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts). With a moody guitar score to enhance the simmering atmosphere, Nichols handles violence with effective discretion while coaxing nuanced performances from his well-chosen cast.

After his disturbing portrayal of a paranoid psychotic in "Bug" and a brief but memorable appearance in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," Shannon (no relation to yours truly) conveys a brooding intensity well-matched to his character's primitive resilience. Like his brothers to whom he remains fiercely loyal, Son possesses quiet nobility and dreams of a better life, but his outward calm masks a seething rage that threatens to erupt with the slightest provocation. Nichols and Shannon maintain firm control over these inner and outer conflicts, and "Shotgun Stories" bodes well for their futures.

Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net