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Did I mention I cut the grass this morning? Well I did, so that alone makes this Saturday more productive than most.
Shotgun Stories was fantastic. That’s two great movie in two days. A true southern movie. I have trouble finding words to describe this majestic piece of cinema. It explores southern pride, honor, sense of family and the need for revenge. It’s the story of two very sets of brothers. One fathered by a worthless drunk that did his son’s a favor by walking out on them. The other by a loving born again Christian. One that is barely scraping by the other moderately affluent by the community standards. Both extremely close. The only thing they share is a father. Who passes away at the beginning of the movie. Harsh words and injured pride set these two sets of brothers on a collision course for tragedy.
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One thing I hate about writing reviews is that you have to watch what your saying. This is more of an analysis than a review so If you plan on seeing this stop here and come back after you’ve seen it.
One of the few things I remember from my formal literature classes is that there are two types of characters in literature. Static and dynamic. Static characters do not grow or change over the piece. Dynamic characters do. In great literature the main characters are supposed to be dynamic. It’s okay if the secondary characters all stay the same but the main characters should evolve, mature, grow. It’s interesting trying to fit Kid, Boy and Son, and the other set of brothers into this model. Who is static and who is dynamic. The other set of brothers are obviously static I don’t think there’s any argument there. Kid doesn’t get a change to mature or evolve. Boy tries to change, tries to become the avenger but reverts back to his earlier instincts. Son however appears to change.
At the beginning of the movie he is taciturn and level headed, but upon hearing about his fathers death he can’t remain silent. I imagine that he at first tries to let sleeping dogs lie, but like the good ole boy in the Jerry Clower joke about the guy writing people’s names in his little book, something in his craw won’t let him stay away from his fathers funerals and saying a few words that he knows will not be welcome. I admit I am basing this all on the fact that Kid, Boy and Son show up in the middle of the graveyard service in wholly, even in their financial straits, inappropriate attire. I read into this that it was a last minute decision. And wasn’t there a scene at the fish farm when Kid asks Son if he’s going to the funeral and Son replies that he doesn’t know?
You see him make the same effort after Kid’s death. Of course at first it appears like the score is even. An eye for an eye so to speak, but then they learn of the two younger brothers involvement in Kid’s death. Son tries to let it lie, but he can’t. Family honor and southern pride are two strong. He has to do something. Then he and Boy end up in the hospital.
A brief interlude from Son’s story to talk about Boy’s journey a little bit. Boy tries to take up the gauntlet, but doesn’t have the stomach for it. I don’t know if Boy just doesn’t have it in him to kill in cold blood or whether he’s able to see that these two sets of siblings are stuck in a negative feedback loop and that he’s willing to lay his life down to stop it if that what it takes. I think he’s somewhere in the middle. The second time he confronts the other brothers he’s counting on the fear of reprisal from Son, once he wakes from his coma, will keep him safe. Still he knows that unless something drastic is done this cycle of violence is not going to peter out on it’s own. Boy may not be able of blowing someone away in from of their children but he ain’t no pussy either. That preceding line sounds so silly but I’m not going to take it out. There is a whole lot of real estate between cold blooded killer and pussy, but that’s the kind of choice we are used to making about characters in your typical revenge flick.
Back to Son’s character arc. When Son comes out of his coma he goes home. He patches things up with Annie and she and his son move back in with him. He’s escaped from the trap of misplaced honor and the lust for revenge. Or has he. The more I think about it Son is the least changed character in the movie. The first thing we notice about Son is the scars on his back from a shotgun blast. We never learn exactly how he earned those scars. I suspect most people who see the movie believe that his father shot him. The most we really find out about them is that he got them protecting Kid and Boy. So the very first thing we notice about Son is a symbol of his willingness to lay down his life to protect his brothers, the only people he considers family, assuming this happened before Annie and him got together. The first things he does in the movie is invite Kid back into the house. Then he drives out to the damn and gives Boy the same offer. When the shit hits the fan need to defend his family’s honor and the lust for revenge tempt him but in the end has he really seen past this. Has that passion that moved him to strangle a sixteen or seventeen year old boy whithered away. Has he smothered the flames of hatred that his mother stoked from childhood. I don’t think that’s likely. I think those emotions are still there the only thing keeping them in check is the need to protect his family, which now includes his wife and probably more important in this respect his son. So he’s right back where he started from doing what ever he has to to protect his family. The first time around it was by taking a shotgun blast. This time it’s a metaphorical blast to his honor, but he’ll survive this blast just as he survived the previous blast. You have to wonder though what kind of scars will this blast leave. His physical scars he can cover up with a shirt. Will be be able to cover his new scars as easily.
Tags: Shotgun Stories