Themes: Obsessive Quests, Redemption, Death of a Child
Main Cast: James Coburn, Barbara Bain, Virginia Madsen, Alexandra Holden, Ryan Locke
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
James Coburn stars in this disappointing drama about a man who tracks the gun he believes killed his daughter. Living out his twilight years in a dreary, snowbound Vermont town, tragedy strikes when his beloved daughter (Virginia Madsen) returns home for the holidays. While out doing some last minute shopping, she is shot and killed, seemingly by a nameless local thug. Crushed by her tragic and sudden death Coburn's hard-working everyman falls to pieces and decides to set out on in search of the weapon that laid the final blow. Also in search of his estranged granddaughter, Coburn crisscrosses the country as he comes into contact with the various owners of the titular weapon, hearing each of their diverse stories. ~ Rachel Deahl, All Movie Guide
Review
Well-acted and ambitious, this drama about America's fascination, and love affair, with guns is mired too heavily in its middling story. Telling the tale of a man who, like so many other boys in this country, was weaned on the glamour and power of firearms, the film unfortunately never explores the more interesting aspects of its hero's conflicted odyssey. A Korean War veteran, plagued by a devastating showdown in the field, Coburn's everyman is one who has been both empowered and ruined by the guns in his life. Capturing his journey to wrestle the demons that haunt him, demons which all seem to spring from incidents involving guns, the film never explores the undercurrents of this interesting theme. Instead, varied stories about the past and its central character's own sordid history, dominate the film. On a sadder note, turning in what was to be the last starring role of his life (Coburn passed away before the film was commercially released), the legacy of this film ends up being the fine performance of the Hollywood legend at the helm. ~ Rachel Deahl, All Movie Guide
Jason Winther; Niesha Trout; Walter Emanuel Jones; Anthony Harrell; Toby Smith; Paula O'Hare; Jesse Pennington; Andrea C. Pearson; Jayson Argento; David Fontani; Lorna Paul; Steve Pratt
Credit
William Hassell - Associate Producer, Jeanne Gore Roberts - Associate Producer, Richard Pagano - Casting, Elyse Eisenberg - Co-producer, Elaine Montalvo - Costume Designer, John Bennett - First Assistant Director, Alan Jacobs - Director, Paul Millspaugh - Editor, Anthony Marinelli - Composer (Music Score), Don de Fina - Production Designer, Phil Parmet - Cinematographer, Brent Morris - Producer, Shelagh Talbot - Set Designer, Bob Gregory - Sound/Sound Designer, Scott Koue - Sound/Sound Designer, Ann Kroeber - Sound/Sound Designer, Jon Meyer - Sound Editor, Alan Jacobs - Screenwriter, Xander Richaers - Sound Effects Editor
