A Single Shot (2013)

Fresh and Exciting

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A SINGLE SHOT is a cheap and digital thriller with a gloomy look. I was expecting a lot from it but it turns out to have very ordinary scripting and some depressingly bleak cinematography that makes the whole viewing experience rather worthless in my eyes. The suspense is barely existent and the entire cast unlikeable, which makes getting into the story a real problem. The presence of William H. Macy in the cast reveals they were hoping for a modern-day FARGO although the plot is more like A SIMPLE PLAN; sadly, this film is nowhere near the quality of either movie, despite the presence of acting dependables including Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine, and Jason Isaacs.

A Single Shot is an extremely frustrating movie experience for the viewer, for on one hand we have a film centred around the always good Sam Rockwell in a lead role that once more showcases his immense screen presence that was most memorably evident in his lead turn in Moon, but on the other hand the story playing out around Rockwell's unfortunate hunter John Moon never once rings realistically true and the films suffers badly from it.A film not concerned with leading in exposition, from the first 5 minutes through to the disheartening and face palm inducing finale, A Single Shot struggles to portray a believable story around much more believable characters. It's an obvious issue when a films central plot device fails to resonate and here with A Single Shot the very act of John accidentally shooting a lone women out in the woods while hunting deer (with a shotgun?) feels implausible and sets up a string of future events that seem frequently underdeveloped, overcooked and downright improbable. Its clear director Rosenthal was going for the morality like tale of what if this happened to you? But there needed to be more grounding around a story that seems to have its end game well in sight but is in no hurry to get there, much to the detriment of a tale in which the lead actor deserved more from.Without doubt the reason to see A Single Shot is Sam Rockwell. Bearded, vulnerable and completely believable, Rockwell's John Moon is another fine creation by an actor who when given the chance to lead, frequently excels. While all things that happen around John don't fully convince there is little doubt that Rockwell's performance is a fully formed and stand out piece of acting. While Rockwell again stands out in an ensemble he is a part of, it's safe to say others don't come to the party. Kelly Reilly, Jeffrey Wright (in what is a turn you may need subtitles for) and Jason Isaacs, all fail to fully convince in their respective roles and clearly struggle within a half boiled story that is complemented by an extremely intrusive musical score and some seriously miss-timed pacing.At times A Single Shot looks to be showing us just what could've been, whether it's once more Rockwell's standout acting chops, some neatly written dialogue or a bleak but beautifully filmed look at life in the wilderness covered mountains, there are moments of real quality here that are sadly shunned aside due to a sometimes infuriatingly staged story and some questionable supporting turns. A missed shot indeed.2 shooting fingers out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com

Review: It's amazing how an honest mistake can spiral out of control when you try and take matters into your own hands. That is definitely the case in this movie. When Sam Rockwell mistakingly kills a young girl whilst hunting deer in the woods, he decides to take matters into his own hands and ends up finding loads of cash were she is staying. From there, the whole story spirals out of control and the jobless recluse becomes hunted down by various criminals who want there money back. The storyline was well put together and the director really did think every aspect through. The obvious thing to do, if you shoot someone by mistake, is to go to the police straight away, but when you have some many things stacked up against you, like Sam Rockwell character, you tend to panic and do the first thing that comes to mind, even if you live to regret it. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie and I never lost interest because I wanted to see were the director was going to take the storyline. The acting was great, especially from Jeffrey Wright and the showdown at the end was well thought through. Enjoyable!Round-Up: Sam Rockwell is another one of those actors that gives his all, no matter what the budget or the size of the movie. After starring in big budget movies like Iron Man 2 and the Green Mile, and small movies like Moon and Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, he has become a bankable star but he doesn't let his fame go to his head. As for the other actors in the movie, they all put in believable performances but the film isn't one that you can watch time and time again. The pace was pretty slow which brings tension to the whole film but it does drag in parts. On the whole it's a watchable movie which is very well written but could have been shorter.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $20,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who are into there intense drama/thriller movies about a hunter who kills a young woman by mistake and finds himself hunted by criminals. 5/10

This kind of film you try to forget fast. What a waste of time! Plot is slow and not that interesting. I saw similar plots so many times in my life, and they turned out better in those films then in this one. OK, guy is hunting and he shoots a girl by accident. That happens so many times in the USA. Well, did not Dick Chaney shoot his friend (hm I wonder was it by accident). Those hunters. Do they want to hunt for the animals or for the people, sometimes I wonder.Acting is not impressive at all. Slow and unimpressive, just as this film is.Well, I suggest that you run for your life. I did after I gave 45 minutes of my life to this film. It did not deserve one minute.