Full Review

Despite a ripped-from-the-headlines urgency buttressed by solid performances, "American Gun" (IFC) misfires.

Directed by Aric Avelino, the disjointed, intermittently forceful drama examines America's gun culture through three unrelated, but thematically linked, stories: an Oregon single mother (Marcia Gay Harden) and her teenage son (Christopher Marquette) trying to cope three years after her older boy went on a school shooting rampage before committing suicide; a Chicago principal (Forest Whitaker) drained from fighting to keep weapons out of his high school and blind to problems at home; and -- least fleshed out -- a soft-spoken Virginian gunsmith (Donald Sutherland) puzzled by his college-age granddaughter's (Linda Cardellini) remoteness.

With a multiple narrative template like "Traffic" and "Crash," this movie attempts to explore gun violence as those pictures did drugs and racism, respectively. But despite earnestly showing how the problem can have a domino effect in communities -- affluent and inner city -- and wreak devastation beyond the immediate victims, the segments never coalesce into a cohesive whole.

The stories never overlap as you might expect. (Was Sutherland's granddaughter a student at the Oregon shooting? Are memories of the tragedy what's troubling her?) They just play out separately and then stop abruptly without resolution. In not tying up the narrative threads, Avelino may have been emulating real life, but the bleak overall result is less than satisfying.

The film contains several instances of violence, including a graphic shooting and a suggested attempted gang rape, a brief glimpse of a dead body and a few other disturbing images, and a vulgar gesture, as well as much rough and crude language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.