To be honest, before I saw this film I did not have high hopes. I was expecting a poorly made "indie" film about Texas. Wrong. This film is so beautifully natural in its composition. The actors are actually southerners, which brought so much depth to the film. As a Texan, I was very impressed with the small details Eagle Pennell put in the film. For example, he did not have the characters riding around on horses or chewing on toothpicks the whole movie, this would not have been an accurate portrayal. Instead he shows the ups and downs of two characters lives, Frank being more of the "main character." After viewing the film, I had the pleasure of listening to Sonny Carl Davis (Frank) discuss his experiences with the film. He brought up a great point about this film. Basically, he said that there are not "buddy movies" anymore between two straight men. Everything now is based on sexuality and violence. But here in this film, you have two friends (who were really friends in real life) who have an accurate relationship on film. He also said that the film was a real labor of love for all of the actors as well as Eagle Pennell. I loved that this film was really important for everyone on set and I think that really says a lot about the quality of this film. There is humor, drama and a sense of reality. Some here have criticized the production quality and to that I say, if you are looking for glitz, look elsewhere, this is Independent Cinema! This really is a great example of male friendship in a period when both are struggling to find out their place in the world.
Review of The Whole Shootin' Match
