American Gun (2005)

The stories of a gun shop owner a single mother and a school principle are woven together in a drama examining the effects of the proliferation of guns in America.System Requirements:Running Time: 95 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 796019795432 Manufacturer No: 79543 Product Description

A Performance Not To Be Missed In An Uneven Ensemble Indie

When the Paul Haggis film "Crash" won an Academy Award for Best Picture for 2006, I wasn't surprised but I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I liked "Crash" well enough--but it was a message movie of the most obvious type. Even stellar performances could not hide its manipulative nature and the contrivance that helped move the plot forward. The "racism is bad yet prevalent in society" theme bludgeoned the viewer with an important lesson--one that might have benefited from a little more subtlety in the storytelling. But why talk about "Crash?" As the indie film "American Gun" began, I immediately sensed the similarities. A disparate, seemingly unrelated group of characters was introduced and I was sure I was in for colliding stories with an important lesson about gun control and violence.

Well, there's good news and bad news. First the good: "American Gun" features a tremendous cast doing great work, and the film is not a preachy diatribe that tells you how you should feel ("Crash" anyone?). However, the bad news is that some of the storylines seem a bit underdeveloped. The end result is that this is a solid piece of filmmaking that falls short of being great. It's definitely worth a look, for a variety of reasons, but it didn't end up packing the emotional punch that I had hoped it would. While some viewers may be left unsatisfied with the general lack of resolution, it was several underwritten subplots that were more problematic for me.

The principle story involves Marcia Gay Harden as the mother of a boy who has gone on a Columbine-like shooting spree at his school. Three years after the event, she and her other son (Chris Marquette) are still trying to deal with the aftermath. Harden is a tremendous presence and a great actress, and if there was only one reason to recommend this film--it would be her. Fierce, defensive, shouldering the blame and fighting to hold it together--this is such a great performance! Marquette matches her nicely and this plotline is moving and riveting. In addition, Tony Goldwyn gives a sensitive performance as a cop in the same town who is also haunted by the school shooting. In an unrelated story, Forest Whitaker gives a typically fine performance as a principle trying to make a difference. Linda Cardellini and Donald Sutherland show up in another story arc--bonding as grandfather and granddaughter.

The Cardellini/Sutherland story left much to be desired--nicely performed but not particularly enlightening. The Whitaker plot is better, if more conventional, and features strong work by Chris Warren Jr. as a promising student trying to make good. And that leaves Harden and Marquette in a story of great power and unrelenting despair. If this was the whole film, I'd give it five stars. But the unevenness brings the score down to about 3 1/2 (I'm rounding up for Harden). I admired much of "American Gun," but I just didn't love it. KGHarris, 11/07. November 17, 2007

Should have been titled "Stupidity and Violence"

The oddest thing about this film is probably its name. The stupidity and violence depicted in it were so typical and so general in nature that it seems apparent the title and the propaganda around it were generated by someone other than those who created the film itself. If I had named the film, it would have been something more like "Stupidity and Violence" (perhaps "American Gun" sounds more provocative.)

The greatest stupidity is that people have been educated--particularly in compulsory government institutions--to ignore the reality that people must be held responsible for their own actions. An extension of that is that if people cannot accept responsibility for their own actions, they have difficulty, without some guilt, holding others responsible for their mistakes and aggression. In come firearms, and the responsibility that comes with owning and operating them. Because people have a hard time dealing with the reality of individual responsibility, they choose to hold inanimate objects such as weapons responsible for the actions of foolish and aggressive people.

This can account for the absurd term "gun violence." No gun ever did violence to anyone. Foolish or unthinking people do, and they do it with and without weapons, and if with a weapon, only sometimes is a firearm involved. The film itself depicts this by showing a number of senseless acts, committed with and without weapons--sometimes knives. What's more, it shows individuals who could benefit from personal protection, but being denied it by laws which are supposedly written to protect us. Every day, far more people defend themselves with firearms than hurt others with them, and because those instances are not reported in media, the violence they stop or avoid altogether is unseen. The economist John Lott explored this effect in "More Guns, Less Crime" where he demonstrates that, counter-intuitively, communities with fewer gun laws are safer and less violent (crime goes down after firearms laws are loosened.) This is because aggressive firearms legislation virtually guarantees that the "bad guys" are well armed, and that responsible individuals are deprived their natural right of effective self defense.

One could more easily site the stupidity of government run schools (around which much of the violence seems centered--ironically, "gun free zones") or ineffective and improperly tasked law enforcement, as to site firearms as the problem. Thus we see the difference in viewpoint illustrated. If you're a leftist, you blame guns. If you're a right-wing zealot, you blame lawlessness. If you're libertarian, you blame stupidity, a lack of individual responsibility, and a society that inhibits choice and independence--from government schools and a bleating media, radiating outward.

If one views the "making of" one sees that many of the participants "get it," so there's hope. What's more, the intelligent viewer sees the difference between the message on the box and the message on in the medium. They know that the story was about people's choices, not a tool that is occasionally abused by some and routinely used by many others to maintain peace and discourage violence. In fact, one actress comments on the difference between the two cultures and the way they view and respect (or disrespect) firearms.

I would have given the film about 3 stars for the overall quality of the message and the performance (there were some disturbing camera effects which I attribute to artistic choice, and they detracted from the viewing experience, and I found some of the characterization and dialog weak, though the story was fairly good), but I was so disgusted by the title and the attempt to preprogram the audience with the overt messages on the cover that I thought it better merited two. If you decide to view or purchase this film, please keep the aforementioned thoughts in mind. March 17, 2007

Nice effort from writer-director Aric Avelino

"American Gun", is an attempt to do what so many filmmakers wish: to speak out on an issue, changing minds or informing, shedding light on dark areas. It is a shame that "American Gun" is not more successful, as it generally comes across as directionless, failing to convey its tagline message that firing a gun shatters more than silence.

In the style of movies like "Crash", or "Magnolia", "American Gun" follows several separate story threads that intertwine- though, it must be said, to a lesser extent than those films. Marcia Gay Haden plays the mother of a boy who took part in a Columbine-style assault on his school who now has to deal not only with the hostility of parents around her but also her other son, now marked by the shadow of his brother's actions. Forest Whitaker's character is the principal of an inner-city school who has become so consumed by protecting his school and his students that his relationship with his wife (Garcelle Beauvais) and son is suffering. The daily struggle to keep his campus safe hasn't prevented one of his better students, who lives in a dangerous neighborhood, from acquiring a gun to protect himself- especially during the night job he has taken on to support his family. Linda Cardellini is a college student working in a gun shop owned by her grandfather (Donald Sutherland) who is struggling to find her place in life, and Tony Goldwyn is a police officer forced to confront his feelings as one of the officers criticized for not doing more to prevent the school shooting tragedy.

The major problem with the movie is that a synopsis fills you in on almost everything you need you know about the content of the film. There are few compelling scenes, whether we focus on action or emotion, and the characters are so one-dimensional that their names barely matter- within the confines of the film, they matter only insofar as their thoughts about firearms exist. To a certain degree, this is the point- Avelino clearly wishes to portray a series of stories that speak for themselves. However, the film ultimately feels impersonal, as if too much has been contrived in order to make a point. By and large, the actors perform adequately, and Whitaker's performance is excellent- although this might be the result of receiving a role with far more substance to it than many of the other capable actors in the film. His character comes off as noble, but human- someone with the best of intentions who is inevitably worn down by the magnitude of the task in front of him. Nobody could walk away from the task of keeping children safe, and yet it is too much of a burden for him to shoulder.

By and large, the other characters are not that persuasive. Their stories, or settings, are interesting enough, but barring one or two moments of genuine pathos, very little happens that is worth the setup. "American Gun" is not a bad film. It simply isn't very good. The slow pace and lack of direction lessen the impact of its serious themes, and the detached feeling lessens emotional connection and sympathy towards the main characters. It's a film one can watch, but not, perhaps, a film worth watching.
January 25, 2007

A great film about one of America's most taboo subjects

I got the chance to view this film on IFC onDemand, and may I say I happy I saw it. It was even better than I expected, although it ended too soon.

"American Gun" stars an ensemble cast of Marcia Gay Harden, Forest Whitaker, Donald Sutherland, Nikki Reed, Linda Cardellini, Chris Marquette, Amanda Seyfried, and Garcelle Beauvais, just to name a few.

Harden is a single mother struggling with the aftermath of her older son's school shooting (in which he was a culprit) and his suicide. She is almost forced out of the neighborhood because of the crime that she is blamed for.

Whitaker is a caring principal in an inner city high school, who's morals are tested when his students begin bringing guns to school to protect themselves. You get the impression he cares more for his students than his wife (Beauvais, more beautiful and talented than ever) and his young son, whom he gives a girl's backpack to instead of buying a new one.

Sutherland is a gun shop owner who employs his college age granddaughter (Cardellini). At first, she is reluctant, but thinks again when her friend is almost raped.

"American Gun" is a character study of an action that is too close to any of us to take lightly. It does not exploit, but informs. Informs us that one move can change your life and others with it.

"American Gun" reminds that this is what filmmaking is about, even though it should have gotten a wider release.

For a good Indie film, I recommend not to rent it, but buy it.

Five stars November 25, 2006

Too close for comfort

This movie is very painful to watch. Real people are the subject, real people who are contradictory, foolish, unwise, passionate, disturbed. In other words, very human. It is a very sad movie.
I find it very hard to see this as entertainment or as art. Its is right in the middle of truth. Unbearable.
Some great acting. Whitaker, Harden, Sutherland, and more.
November 7, 2006

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