Shotgun Stories

Set in rural southeastern Arkansas, Shotgun Stories is a 2007 movie written and directed by Jeff Nichols, who was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Known for his later films, including Take Shelter and Mud, Nichols made his directorial debut with Shotgun Stories. With themes surrounding broken homes, lawlessness, poverty, and gun culture, the movie won critical praise as well as prizes at cinematic events in 2007, including the Austin Film Festival, Newport International Film Festival, Vienna International Film Festival, and Seattle International Film Festival, as well as at the Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards in 2008. The film was co-produced by David Gordon Green.

The plot of Shotgun Stories centers around a feud between two sets of half brothers (seven boys in total) following the death of their father. (Despite the title, even though there is a feeling of impending violence throughout the film, a shotgun is only fired only once, although there is a disturbing scene involving a fatality brought on by a venomous reptile.) The sets of brothers grew up quite differently. The father was an abusive alcoholic around his first set of sons, whom he generically named Son (played by Michael Shannon), Boy (Douglas Ligon), and Kid (Barlow Jacobs). Their mother was embittered by her situation and hardly cared for the boys.

After abandoning his first family, the father sobered up and “found Jesus,” beginning a different kind of life with a new family. He fathered four more sons: Cleaman, John, Mark, and Stephen. While the sons of the first family are impoverished, the second family lives on a prosperous cotton and soybean farm where the boys have a good upbringing. After Son, Boy, and Kid’s estranged mother tells Son that his father is dead, he and his brothers crash the funeral, cursing their father and spitting on his grave. The threat of violence ensues. As Son tells his mother, “You raised us to hate those boys, and we do, and now it’s come to this.”

Most of the principal photography for Shotgun Stories took place in 2004 around Highway 165 in the Arkansas towns of England (Lonoke County) and Scott (Pulaski and Lonoke counties), as well as the tiny nearby community of Keo (Lonoke County). There were also shots of a railroad crossing in Stuttgart (Arkansas County). According to the website The Numbers, the filming of Shotgun Stories was done on a budget of about $250,000, and the film ultimately showed a profit when it grossed more than $284,000 worldwide.

Along with Nichols, another Arkansas native associated with Shotgun Stories was actress Natalie Canerday, who was born in Russellville (Pope County). Along with Shannon in the lead role of Son, Canerday was singled out for praise based on her portrayal of Son’s wife, Nicole. Shotgun Stories was the first film together for Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon, who went on to collaborate on Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Midnight Special (2016), and Loving (2016). Shotgun Stories appeared on several top ten lists of the best films of the year and earned a strong “thumbs up” from critic Roger Ebert, who called it observant and sympathetic, especially notable for moments of quiet humor and an unexpected choice at the end. Shotgun Stories was a 2008 selection at the annual film festival Ebertfest.

For additional information:
Brown, Emma. “Jeff Nichols’ Southern Exposures.” Interview, March 12, 2013. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/jeff-nichols-mud (accessed June 4, 2025).

Ebert, Roger. “Sins of the Father, Lives of the Sons.” RogerEbert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shotgun-stories-2008 (accessed June 4, 2025).

“Jeff Nichols Talks Making First Feature the Low-Budget Indie Shotgun Stories.” Indie Activity. https://www.indieactivity.com/jeff-nichols-on-making-the-low-budget-indie-shotgun-stories/ (accessed June 4, 2025).

Martin, Philip. “Scene from a Podunk Town.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 28, 2017. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/mar/28/scene-from-a-podunk-town-20170328/?print (accessed June 4, 2025).

“Shotgun Stories.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0952682/ (accessed June 4, 2025).

“Shotgun Stories.” The Numbers. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Shotgun-Stories#tab=summary (accessed June 4, 2025).

“Shotgun Stories Film Review.” New York Times, March 26, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/movies/26shot.html (accessed June 4, 2025).

Trieschmann, Werner. “Shotgun: Part of Life for Creator.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 16, 2007. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/dec/16/shotgun-part-life-creator-20071216/ (accessed June 4, 2025).

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society