American Gun

Name: American Gun
Genre: Drama
Released: March 22, 2006
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 48
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Linda Cardellini, Marcia Gay Harden, Tony Goldwyn

2006

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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American Gun

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: March 22, 2006 | R

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Linda Cardellini, Marcia Gay Harden, Tony Goldwyn

Summary: American Gun is a powerful series of interwoven storylines that bring to light how the proliferation of guns in America dramatically affects and shapes the every day lives of its citizens. (IFC Films)

Director: Aric Avelino

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

Jessica Reaves

The structural sibling to Paul Haggis' race relations opus ("Crash"), but beyond the similarly interwoven vignettes, it's a different animal altogether: messier, more complicated and ultimately more interesting. Read full review

Jami Bernard

While this is not exactly a hopeful movie, it's a polished exercise in the kind of social commentary that can wake people up. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Ken Fox

The overall effect of watching his film is a bit like a nerve-racking game of Russian roulette: You just know a gun is going to go off, but you don't know which of this multitude of characters it's going to hit. Read full review

John McMurtrie

Three story lines make up this tense movie, and while each has its strengths, they don't quite add up to a satisfying whole. Read full review

Noel Murray

The Sutherland segments are the most bothersome, because they never really reach a resolution, and because they're betrayed by Avelino's uni-faceted approach.

Michael Rechtshaffen

A painfully earnest but dramatically inert film. Read full review

Scott Foundas

This is "Crash" with gun violence substituted for racism, although the tone of director–co-writer Aric Avelino's debut feature may be closer to one of those pious public-safety films that used to be shown to schoolchildren in order to frighten them out of potential bad behavior. Read full review

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User Reviews

DarkM.

Jan 3, 2007

Sure it has the "Crash"-esque feel, but it's not as bad as everyone seems to make it out to be. It's not like Hollywood has NEVER had similar movies come out at the same time, so give it a chance. Some fine performances, noteably Forest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden and Chris Marquette.

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ChadShiira

Apr 8, 2007

Janet(Marcia Gay Harden) and her son(Chris Marquette plays David) need to yell at each other until their ears bleed(and ours) as a distraction because "American Gun" is about to become convoluted. After David is thrown out of private school(because his mother did an interview about her Janet(Marcia Gay Harden) and her son(Chris Marquette plays David) need to yell at each other until their ears bleed(and ours) as a distraction because "American Gun" is about to become convoluted. After David is thrown out of private school(because his mother did an interview about her other son), Janet informs her child that he'll be attending Ridgeline, the scene of his older brother's crime. Marquette can screams bloody murder at his mom all he wants; we're simply not buying it. A faculty and student body who are still in the process of psychical healing following a bloodbath of Columbinesque proportions(it's only been three years), would not allow David's entrance into the Ridgeline population without a fight. "American Gun" fires a few blanks(I'm also not convinced that a pacifist like Mary Ann(Linda Cardellini) would go to a firing range after one incident), but the inclusion of a predominantly black high school in juxtaposition with a white one hits the bullseye. When Jefferson County(where Columbine is located) residents were interviewed by the media after the slaying, a lot of them expressed disbelief that something like this could happen in their neighborhood. A school shooting is more likely to take place at the educational institution Carter runs. As the principal watches a third anniversary retrospective of the Ridgeline masacre, there is only sadness in his eyes, an understanding that he's been lucky, so far. In the film's deftest move, Principal Carter confiscates a student's gun, which leads to a situation we've never seen before on the screen.… Expand

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Sam

Apr 6, 2006

There are three words that came to mind when I saw this movie, "Crash", "Rip", and "Off".

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Jake

Apr 6, 2006

It's a terrible movie, but the message just pisses me off. Have you ever seen a gun unlock itself out of a cabinet, jump off a shelf, all by itself, and go out and shoot someone? I haven't, you know why? It's the people that choose to kill the people, not the guns.

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