American Gun

I watched Crash. I thought it was decent. Oscar worthy? Absolutely not. I watched Babel. I thought it was absolutely terrible. If you go to the comments on that movie, you will find what I wrote about it. I watched Magnolia. Another decent type of these, but nothing I would watch over again. All of these movies got quite a bit of notice. Whether they deserved it or not, I don't really know.

But what I do know is that American Gun deserved some serious attention. This movie, which clearly had a lower budget than all of those other movies, was the greatest film of the multiple stories genre.

Maybe it's just because I don't consider "racism bad" a good enough message in a movie for the past two decades (except American History X); I think gun violence, especially in high schools, is one of the most important issues in our country. This movie just managed to get under my skin and rip out emotion from me a lot better than most movies I have seen. This movie should have received the Oscar that Crash won. It was completed before Crash. Forrest Whitaker alone is better than every actor and actress in Crash combined.

Few films pull off the loosely connected people style very well. It annoys me when a movie filled with A-list celebrities gets noticed because of it. American Gun is one of the few that didn't get that notice and deserved it.

It is no "bullet-shit" that the enthralling independent film "American Gun" does fire major points on the American gun control issue within its intertwining plot. However, it is also no "bullet-shit" that "American Gun" did misfire with one of its story lines. A la "Crash", "American Gun" includes various characters within several story lines that focus on a controversial social issue. What struck me about "Crash" was its creative precision to detail on how the social issue (in 'Crash"- racism) all interconnected. In "American Gun" there are separate situations that are "bullet-proof", but hold no fundamental connective qualities on the gun control issue.

Here are my on-target shots of "American Gun": 1) On target: Marcia Gay Harden was mesmerizing as a mother of a fallen youth assailant who murdered several students and teachers in school grounds three years ago. Her story focuses on how she combatively tries to overcome the tragedy , and her challenge to supersede the pain by avidly trying to support her other son. 2) On target: Forest Whitaker's captivating performance as a high school principal who is dealt with the challenge of a youth gun control problem at the school he pilots. In other words, "Run, Forest, Run" before your students run the asylum well-armed. 3) On target: Tony Goldwyn's golden acting duty portraying a police officer who is guilt-ridden that he could not be more proactive in preventing the aforementioned school violence tragedy. 4) On target: Novice Writer-Director Aric Avelino's film-making & screen writing machinery efforts in the School Gun Control and the Grieving Mother/Remorseful Officer story lines.

Here are the misfires of "American Gun": 1) Misfire: Donald Sutherland's phlegmatic performance as a gun owner who tries to connect with his alienated granddaughter. 2) Misfire: The aforementioned storyline which had no relevance or impact to the American gun control issue. In other words, it had me gunning for more.

OK, that's it! I am a gunner , I mean "goner" with this one! *** Average

The film American Gun seemed like it never started far after the end credits began running. It seemed like, what the director was trying to say, was never actually portrayed on screen. With the exception of a few sporadic and impressive performances, there is nothing American Gun really offers. After reading all the comparisons to Paul Haggis' Crash on the back of the DVD cover, I was very disappointed in the outcome of this film. Many may argue that this film shows the struggle that people go through, dealing with violence in America, but the film never actually gives us a solution. Obviously director Aric Avelino's debut tries to omit any solutions to the rapid gun craze in the United States. He even traps the audience inside of a gun store before the credits roll. Overall this was an amateur effort by an amateur filmmaker whom will hopefully turn out some better film in the future.

I disagree with the people who think that nothing sticks out in this movie.

I saw it and was amazed at some of the things that were said and shown.

Sure, there may have been some exaggerated intensity, but isn't that sometimes necessary to prove a point.

Do you think that the real lives of people who have to carry guns to school, are robbed at gun point, or live a threatened life are calm, relaxed, or peaceful? No. Those lives can be full of anxiety, violence, and much intensity!

I think this movie provides a great view of something that is ripping apart our society before our very eyes.

Hats off to the film makers!

I've read comment after comment and review after review saying this film is just a remake of Crash. Some even saying the director should receive some "props" from being so quick on the draw on capitalizing on this. However, anyone who actually follows films outside of what they read in People Magazine will know that this film was being shot BEFORE Crash, and had actually been completed as far back as June 2005. It is a film that was in pre-production a year before that. Unfortunately, the distribution company decide to hold this film from release until this past weekend, prompting hack critics to say it's just a knock-off of this year's "Best Picture" (also to be strongly debated).

This is a film that doesn't need to have a Hollywood ending. Is driven by such strong performances and directing that it leaves you motionless in your seat at its conclusion. A rare film that hits harder and harder with each repeat screening. I could go on and on about the performances of Marcia Gay Harden and Forest Whitaker (who by the way gives his best performance to date in this film), but what was even more impressive was the performances by the younger actors on screen. The Son of Marcia Gay Harden and the character "Jay" both blew me away by the quality of their performances.

American Gun is well worth the money. Please don't be closed-minded and see this film as just a knock-off of Crash. Just because a movies is released after another film DOES NOT MEAN that it was made after that film. It's just bad luck for this movie and for first time writer and director Aric Avelino, who proves excellent movies can still be made with a purpose and without big budgets.