"Loves Her Gun" might be the most criminally underrated movie of 2013.
It takes the viewer in the mind of its main character in a way that few movies do. You feel her desire to escape everything and anything, you feel her paranoia, and you feel her attraction to violence.
That might make it sound like a downer, but it's not. It's a mercifully short and fast-paced movie with a sense of humor. The movie's light tone not only makes its dark subject matter more palatable, it also makes the main character's flaws seem all the more tragic. She's not reacting to a world that is harsh by nature, but to a series of unfortunate circumstances that she's not mentally equipped to deal with, and her innocuous surroundings only make that more clear.
In many ways, it plays like a Hitchcock film - or, perhaps more accurately, like a film by one of Hitchcock's more subtle French imitators, Chabrol and Truffaut. In any case, the film does an amazing job of keeping you engaged and squirming in your seat, even when nothing strange seems to be happening.
Many movies these days are shot in Austin, but they often are merely set in suburban houses and bars. This movie, however, really has a sense of place. You really get a feel for the outdoor dive bars, the humid air, the health food stores, and the bicycle cabs.
I saw this movie half a year ago, and it has stayed in my memory more than many others have.
I really don't know why this movie wasn't bigger. My best guess is that it was too cinematic and intense for indie audiences expecting a light mumblecore, and too subtle for thriller/horror audiences, who were probably expecting a cheesy bloodbath.
I suspect that it just didn't connect with the small, niche audiences who tend to expect very specific things from movies, and often don't have the patience for subtle, intelligent, visually compelling movies that tell good stories.
