| Weapons | |
|---|---|
Weapons official movie poster. |
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| Directed by | Adam Bhala Lough[1] |
| Produced by | Robert N. Fried Dan Keston Bill Straus Sol Tryon (executive) |
| Written by | Adam Bhala Lough |
| Starring | Nick Cannon Paul Dano Mark Webber Riley Smith Brandon Mychal Smith |
| Cinematography | Manuel Claro |
| Editing by | Jay Rabinowitz |
| Studio | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | 2007 |
| Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000 |
Weapons (stylized as WEAPONS) is a 2007 American, teenage crime drama directed and written by Adam Bhala Lough.
The film premiered in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was released straight-to-DVD by Lionsgate in 2009.
Contents |
Nick Cannon as Reggie
Jade Yorker as Mikey
Paul Dano as Chris
Mark Webber as Sean
Riley Smith as Jason
Brandon Mychal Smith as James
The film starts off in a violent crime committed against Reggie (Cannon), who ends up having his head blown off while eating a burger in a fast-food restaurant. After his death, the film opens up in a Pulp Fiction-esque story arc, unveiling why Reggie died in the beginning of the film--and ultimately, who killed him.
The return of Sean (Webber) and his sequential, radical lifestyle--joined by Jason (Riley Smith) and Chris (Dano).
The previous day, Reggie and his sister Sabrina argue over the bruises on her face. She reveals to him that Jason gave her the scars during a rape, forcing Reggie to retaliate. He brings along his friend Mikey, (Yorker) and Mikey's younger brother James (Smith), to retrieve a gun from Mikey's distant, irrational uncle (Arliss Howard), solely to kill Jason.
The night of Sabrina's rape through the eyes of Chris.
Sabrina's revealed pregnancy the same night of her rape.
The morning of Jason's funeral, Reggie's death, and his killer's breakdown.
The style in the film foreshadows the characters. Gritty images and shots within scenes are common, but there are also times where the film becomes bright and clear when it is irrelevant, adding to the plot.
| "The first and last scenes were shot on 35mm, but most of the film was shot on 16mm. The scenes Paul Dano shot are on a PD150. So initially that was how we wanted to cover it for a number of reasons. We were on a super low budget. It was around $500,000. We were shooting in 18 days and practically speaking there wasn’t going to be time to do traditional coverage. I was more interested in doing something aesthetically that lent itself to this type of run-and-gun style." |
| — Adam Bhala Lough[2] |
The film's budget estimated $500,000.
Dano's character uses a Sony PSR-PD150 in the film for his directorial debut.
The film averaged mixed and negative reviews from the critics. At the review aggressor site Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a "rotten" score of 35% based on eight reviews. However, users seemed to appreciate the film more, giving the film an overall 56% (which is near a "certified fresh" rating).[3]
There was a lawsuit against the revamped works towards the film, including the horrific rape scene and also a scene where Dano's character urinates on a fellow party member. In general, the film was delayed because no one contacted Lough on releasing the film to theaters as planned; consequently, Lough teamed up with Lionsgate for releasing the unrated version of the film straight to DVD.
The film is notable for having an all DJ Screw soundtrack (the first of its kind) and an original score by the band International Friends[4], originally composed for the film, but inspired by DJ Screw music.
| Year | Award[5] | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize | Adam Bhala Lough | Nominated |
WEAPONS at the Internet Movie Database