User reviews

John Mossman and his creative team have made a contemporary - destined to be a classic - film noir. The film's exploration of the darker aspects of gun violence and responsible gun ownership - within the contexts of a single parent household, coming of age lead actor, sexuality, high school buddies, peer pressure, and small town values - it serves as a poignant commentary on the complexities and contradictions of American society today. The cast is wonderful and they all have done excellent performances. The Actor Dan Waller was incredible in his role as Duke. I have to say Waller is cut from the same cloth as Christopher Walken. Enjoy!

I was quickly drawn into the fast pace of the movie, its character development and compelling story. I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of Will and the evolution of his character as he grapples with grief and loss and acculturates to a new circle of friends at a galvanizing time of his life. I did not expect to relate to the characters at all but found myself surprisingly touched by several moments of tenderness and vulnerability. This movie does a good job depicting prevailing thoughts and ideologies surrounding gun culture and the hidden cliff of radicalization. The storyline and its breathtaking culmination will reverberate amongst all viewers.

Writer/director John Mossman turns in a tense thriller with his latest film, Good Guy With A Gun, which explores the cultural divide between urban and small town America, particularly in regard to gun culture. A city kid visiting a small town with his mom to settle the estate of his recently deceased grandfather gets involved in the local gun culture, and trouble ensues. Visually appealing and well written with several plot twists that I did not see coming (the best kind of plot twists), Good Guy With A Gun takes you on an emotional rollercoaster as it builds to its climax. Good Guy With A Gun has done well at international film festivals, and it's easy to see why.

This film was so well done and very entertaining. I really enjoyed the storyline, the cast and the relationships that were built throughout the film. I got to see it at the GTX FILM Festival in Georgetown, TX and it blew me away. I meet the director and a few of the cast. Such a professional and respectful group. Their passion for the film and their work was so inspiring. It made me appreciate the film even more. I can easily see this film building momentum and attracting a large following. It's that good. I highly recommend everyone check this one out. It's very much worth the time and the watch!!

Good Guy With a Gun- where do I begin?

I'm not one to be interested in movies about guns, but BOY did GGWAG grab my attention. I wondered how the message on gun violence would be conveyed, and I will say, it was delivered tastefully.

The combination of horror, thriller, romance, and comedy all intertwined perfectly. The acting was phenomenal. Each actor embodied their characters flawlessly, leaving me interested in each and everyone's story.

I really have nothing bad to say about this movie. Hands down best movie I've seen in awhile. From start to finish, my eyes were glued to the TV. Check it out- it's worth it!

This is a brilliant award-winning 2023 rural noir thriller and a must-see important conversation piece. Bravo to John Mossman on his masterpiece and bravo to the entire cast and crew! Outstanding in every aspect: stellar storytelling, filmmaking, acting, writing, directing, producing, and just all-around a fantastic film that I cannot wait to see again. I had the great honor and pleasure of seeing the premiere and have not stopped thinking about it since. Hopefully it will be generally released soon. The world wants and needs this film, and I want to see it again! Ten stars is not even enough.

Good Guy with a Gun courageously whacks the hornet's nest of this complicated, troubling, infuriating issue. The story is compelling, well-told, gorgeously presented, and superbly acted, with many surprises, twists and a pretty terrifying chase scene.

The film stays with you; I've thought about it many times in the year since I saw it. The vivid, naturalistic performances are unforgettable, particularly Tiffany Bedwell's fierce, quiet mama bear; David Stobbe's humanizing portrait of a character we've seen cartooned many times; and Mossman's own cameo as the chilling and terrifying three-dimensional villain.

A tour de force by writer/director/actor John Mossman, with a well-written script flawlessly executed with nuance and grace. It so refreshing to witness a clear filmmaking vision realized with refined skill across the board. Well paced, impeccably acted, with ambitious action sequences that delivered in ways rarely seen in independent film. Every Chekhovian gun hung on the figurative wall of narrative was shot at the perfect time. The suspense steadily built, masterfully delivered by compelling performances. Every character was clearly delineated with heart and grit, providing balance and relief to a film that could have been overly dark in less capable hands.

There are no lazy caricatures of characterization in writing, direction, or performance; Mossman clearly understood his challenging subject from all angles. The teen performers are flawless, and they are going places. The parents are the heart and soul, strong and sympathetic. While the whole ensemble is top-notch, antagonists John Mossman and John LaFlamboy are standouts, delivering masterclass performances in stillness and intimidation. Truly star-making performances.

Beyond the top-notch writing and acting, which is rare enough at the indie level, the cinematography is a gem, composed beautifully with luscious saturation and deep lighting. Sound and editing was seamless, which I deeply appreciate as an editor myself.

The detail I find most often overlooked in indie film is the score. As someone who's been passionate about film scoring since childhood and listens to this music genre primarily, it frustrates me when 90% of indie filmmakers seem to have no vision for their music or understanding of its vital importance and narrative power. They throw in random canned tracks with poor, cheap instrumentation and edit them with no sense of organic emotional flow or visual timing, thus hurting rather helping their narrative. It's the invisible element that cheapens the entire product and breaks my suspension of disbelief time after time, even in Hollywood movies (don't get me started on "Predator.") There is so much magic and power in coupling a quality film with a quality score, and the opportunity is often squandered.

I can't imagine a better suited score than what composer Petter Wahlback delivered. It never detracted from the scene and never distracted by drawing attention to itself. It served its story perfectly and seamlessly, like it's supposed to. And it wasn't overused. Where less experienced composers and directors would have "told" the audience how to feel in pivotal scenes, like an annoying family member delivering commentary beside you in the theatre (me, guilty as charged), Wahlback and Mossman often chose silence and realism, allowing the character and thus the audience to decide our feelings for ourselves, never manipulating or forcing emotions as less skilled filmmakers might have. They trusted their audience and their own impressive abilities.

With multi-dimensional characters and skilled storytelling firmly in the foreground, "Good Guy With a Gun" handles its subject thoughtfully, with grace and empathic humanity. I feel the filmmaker chose to tell a family's nuanced, personal story rather than heavy-handedly preach a political message or demonize whole groups of people. This is a rare gem that filmmakers should study and I hope audiences discover. Give it a watch!

This movie does an excellent job of dealing with a very controversial topic, examining the many facets of it and letting the audience decide where they stand on the issue. Filmed in a rural area definitely sets the tone for the action and anxiety to build throughout the film. The actors are well defined and filming itself is skillful. The blending with music definitely makes the scenes more powerful and believable. Very well written, acted and filmed. The actors do a marvelous job of not only defining the characters, but their interactions are brilliantly executed to make them real adding great emotion to the story. Great job Mossman and team.

Rarely do you comes across a film, whether an indie or something from a major studio, that achieves the lofty standards set by "Good Guy with a Gun". As an aficionado of film, it's easy to see that in today's film world, quality and originality has taken a beating. The opposite is true here, however. This film combines a magnificent script, uniformly outstanding acting from its large cast, expert direction, and stellar production values. Special shout-out to John LaFlamboy. His performance easily outshines supporting roles that have previously won Oscars. He's just terrific in his role as a detective. Furthermore, the issues addressed in this film are smart, necessary, and decidedly un-P. C., which is a welcome relief from vanilla, cookie-cutter offerings that are typical in today's movie landscape. There are messages subtle and extreme, and the actors convey the script's nuances with genuine aplomb. Bravo/brava to them all. Writer/director/producer/actor John Mossman has ascended to auteur status with this film, and if there aren't multiple "Best-of" awards in GGWAG's future, something is terribly, awfully wrong. This film is THAT good, and deserving of every syllable of praise from audiences across the world.

This film takes a politically fraught topic and infuses it with complexity and contradiction. It is a beautifully shot vignette of life in a small town, with all of the accompanying expectations and pressures on full display for newcomers Will and Tessa. Suspenseful and dramatic, yet tender and full of emotion, the storyline is anchored by some truly exceptional performances. I appreciated how authentic everything felt, especially as someone who has only marginal personal experience with gun culture. Definitely a conversation starter that is best watched with others, Good Guy With A Gun will provoke you to reconsider your preconceptions on gun control and ask yourself how far is too far?

This film tackles the complex issues being faced by American society and gun culture. John Mossman dives into the character development giving us a glance at "both sides of the story" and how cultural differences are affecting our society. But nothing is truly born in a vacuum and intertwined in the mix are religion, politics and sexual identity acceptance, progress, and yes, stagnation. At first glance it appears that it's just big city vs small town, but the cultural divide is much more than that. This film takes the main characters on an emotional roller coaster ride, and the viewers with them.

This coming of age film paints a nuanced portrait of an adolescent boy grappling with the violent death of his father. When he and his mom move to a small town, he is drawn into a group of otherwise normal kids who happen to be into shooting guns.

The trouble comes when a few of his peers and their adult influences take it too far. The culture he falls into is at once amped up on testosterone, and also tender, quiet, and unsure of itself (or rather, full of boys who are those things). The film dances between these two extremes. You become grateful he has something to latch onto to release pent up emotion - especially in a world that tells young men to swallow it - and terrified for him as the dark undercurrent of this subculture is unveiled and it becomes clear just how far it will go.

As Will descends deeper into gun culture, he begins to form his own views on gun ownership and faces a series of tests from his peers and mentors to see where his limits are. You can really see him grappling with how to understand his own reality while receiving contradictory messages from all of the influential people in his life.

This confusion sits against the backdrop of a strained parent-child relationship between Will and his mom, who is processing her own grief while simultaneously finding her own sources of comfort and renewal. She's trying her best and nobody is telling her what to do or how to do it. I found her difficulty knowing how to bridge the large chasm with her teenage son very convincing. Somewhat paradoxically, it is when she is pushed to her limits that she is able to see her son's raw heartbreak and put aside her own.

Growing up in a small, conservative town, some of this film resonated with me. Neighbors make it a priority to help one another, and most families go back decades. Of course, nobody in my high school was talking about their semi-automatics and certainly nobody brandished them around town. But this film isn't about everyday kids in every small town - it's about how extreme subcultures are formed and how everyday kids fall into them.

This film is a conversation starter. It is also about the many faces of gun ownership, and it forces you to ask yourself how far, to you, is too far.

Definitely worth the watch!

What a provocative indie film! Director John Mossman has his finger on the pulse of what is happening in America today. The ideas being explored here - "masculinity" and gun violence in rural America - are so vital. Great acting, tight pace, and a twisted, suspenseful story!!! I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie - it was hard to relax while waiting for something deadly to happen. The film also features many actors from the Chicago theatre community who are very compelling on camera, including the director himself in a gritty cameo appearance - Good Guy With a Gun is a must-see!!!

I can't say enough good things about this movie! It addresses cultural differences between Cities/States. Focusing mostly on gun culture and how we are all touched by it whether we own a gun or not. The cast was spot on! All the Actors seemed as if they were born to play their part. You genuinely felt empathy for most of the characters except the "Bad Guys", pun intended. The direction and script by Mossman was well paced and kept you guessing "My God, what's going to happen next?!" The movie also touches on a few other of Life's Big Questions. But you will have to watch it to fine out which ones.

I didn't rent, I purchased! I wanted to watch it again with my 16 year old Son. Do not miss this movie, you'll be glad you watched.