''American Gun'' is a 2002

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by Alan Jacobs. It stars

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

(in his final film role), Virginia Madsen,

Barbara Bain Barbara Bain (born Mildred Fogel; September 13, 1931) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Cinnamon Carter on the action television series '' Mission: Impossible'' (1966–1969), which earned her three Primetime Emmy Awar ...

and Alexandra Holden.

Plot

Martin Tillman (

), a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

, is on a cross-country journey to trace the origin of the gun used to kill his daughter Penny ( Virginia Madsen). On the way, he seeks his granddaughter Mia ( Alexandra Holden). Writer/director Alan Jacobs was inspired by a visit to the Smith & Wesson factory in Massachusetts, where he saw an obituary for a young girl above the workbench where a man was assembling guns. He wondered if the worker had perhaps assembled the gun that killed the girl. "At that moment it clicked," Jacobs said. "I had recently read a book called ''

Lethal Passage Lethal Passage: The Story of a Gun is a 1995 non-fiction book by American author Erik Larson. Through the lens of a 1988 school shooting in Virginia Beach, the author explores America's gun culture and the ease in acquiring such weapons as the o ...

'' by the journalist Erik Larson who tracked down the history of a submachine gun that ended up in the hands of a kid who took it to school one day. That put the idea in my head that a gun could have a history."Robert Knott, Santa Fe New Mexican Film Festival Guide, 2002

Cast

as Martin Tillman **Ryan Locke as Young Man Martin Tillman **Chapin Long as Young Boy Martin Tillman * Virginia Madsen as Penny Tillman *

as Anne Tillman **Niesha Trout as Young Anne Tillman * Alexandra Holden as Mia **Devin Irish as Young Mia **Sarah Michael Ezzo as Baby Mia * Paula Murad Coburn as Jasmine * Jesse Pennington as Pastor * Jason Winther as Mike * Alex Feldman as McNee *

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), ''The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and the ...

as Theodore Huntley * Walter Emanuel Jones as J.B. * Andrea C. Pearson as Jewel *

Anthony Harrell Brutha was an American R&B and soul group consisted of five brothers: Anthony Harrell, Cheyenne Harrell, Grady Harrell III, Jacob Harrell and Jared Overton. The group was formed in 2002 and Brian McKnight first introduced them on the 2003 ''So ...

as Kyle * Toby Smith as Valerie *

Antoni Corone Antoni Corone is an American actor and producer. He is perhaps best known for playing " Frank Urbano" in the American drama television series '' Oz'', Only Fools and Horses as Rico Ochetti and also being known for playing the role of "Captain W ...

as Charles Anderson * Joey Diaz as Gun Smuggler *

Laurie O'Brien Laurie O'Brien (born February 16, 1951) is an American actress who started her career in Los Angeles in 1982 with her role in ''Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann''. She is best known for voicing Baby Piggy on the 1980s Saturday morning cart ...

as Martin's Mother *

Max Thayer Michael "Max" Thayer (born June 18, 1946) is an American movie actor, sometimes credited as Michael R. Thayer. He is mostly known for playing lead roles in several B-movies and action films such as ''Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks'', '' Pla ...

as Martin's Grandfather * Michael Esper as Burglar * Bob Glazier as Dirty Cop * Stacey Alexander as Vegas Show Girl #1 * Erica Arnold as Vegas Show Girl #2 * Erika Cossio as Vegas Show Girl #3 * Danielle Della Valle as Vegas Show Girl #4 * Julia Hayes as Vegas Show Girl #5 * Farrah Hines as Vegas Show Girl #6 * Tammy Kinney as Vegas Show Girl #7 * Shannon Warf as Vegas Show Girl #8

Production

The film was shot over a period of 40 days of principal photography which began in December, 2000 in Rutland, Vermont, followed by Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada and Miami, Florida. The film was shot by cinematographer Phil Parmet in 35mm Kodak color, black & white, with additional footage on Sony PD150 mini-DV, and the combination of formats won the Modern Digital Cinematography Award at the Seattle Independent Film Festival in 2002.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 20 reviews. Critics generally praised Coburn's lead role, with Andrew Wright of '' The Portland Mercury'' writing, "Coburn is the whole show ere" Jacobs' directing and screenplay drew a variety of reactions. David Hunter of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that Jacobs was "getting a lot of quality cinema out of a tight budget" and praised the "risky" storytelling, while David Nusair at ''Reel Film Reviews'' called it a "mostly engaging and intriguing character study". However, Chris Hewitt of the ''

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey County, Minn ...

'' criticized the film's "anti-gun message, warm family drama … and its fake-out structure."

References

External links

* * 2002 drama films 2000s English-language films American drama films 2002 films Films directed by Alan Jacobs American nonlinear narrative films American independent films Films scored by Anthony Marinelli Filicide in fiction 2002 independent films 2000s American films {{indie-drama-film-stub