Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  My memory of Boardwalk Empire was that Shannon had a bit part to begin with that was expanded upon later, once he had established himself. The truth is he gets fourth billing in the titles and appears in the first episode, and is missing only in the fourth in this first tranche. If you have not seen the show you really should. I watched it all when first broadcast and I still enjoyed this first part of a planned full re-watch. I’d forgotten that Martin Scorsese directed the first episode and there are plenty of name directors appearing throughout the run including some who worked on ‘The Sopranos’. The show opens in Atlantic City in 1930 with the Volstead Act, which brings in prohibition, due to begin the next day. The main focus of the series is Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson (Steve Buscemi) whom we first meet addressing a meeting of the Temperance League. He talks about the evils of booze before having a swig from his hip flask in the car park and heading off to a big party. ...

  This is an early to mid Shannon offering and one where he gets top billing. Although released in 2007, IMDb says most of the principal photography took place in 2004, making the on screen Shannon around 30 years old. He does look a bit younger than that and a good fit for his character, Son Hayes, the eldest of three brothers. The film is set in the cotton fields of rural Arkansas, in contemporary times. Life is clearly hard with Son and his brothers barely scratching a living. One brother lives in a tent and another in a van. Son himself is a failed gambler with an estranged wife who dreams of something better. One night the boys’ mother shows up, a lady who looks barely older than Shannon himself, who announces that their father has died. The boys show total indifference, failing to ask even how he met his end. They do ask for the details of the funeral which spells trouble from the off. We learn that Dad dumped the mother and three boys and started a new life with a new ...

  We jump forward now from Shannon’s debut and sophomore features to this one where he gets a proper part and next to top billing. It’s a pity the film is pretty rubbish, but you can’t have everything. We open with three scientist being taken hostage with men in balaclavas in what we understand to be Bolivia. The three are on a UN mission to understand an ecological disaster that led to a large salt desert being created in what was once fertile land. The scientists moan constantly and there is a lot of talk about diarrhoea, as two quickly go down with food poisoning. For some reason we then get a long flashback which shows them travelling and getting kidnapped. No surprises there as they were already kidnapped when we started. Shannon appears early on but he’s wearing a mask and the subtitles have him as ‘Masked Man’ but his eyes give him away from the start. Another of the kidnappers is in a wheelchair but still dons the full commando outfit. He later springs out of t...

  For our second look at a Michael Shannon film I’ve booted up his second appearance in the risible 1996 conspiracy action thriller ‘Chain Reaction’. I hadn’t seen this film before as it looked rubbish and having now watched it and confirmed this to be the case I’ll never have to watch it again. Unless I do a Brian Cox retrospective which is unlikely. Hmm ‘Rushmore’ though… Going forward I will pick a random Shannon film from my spreadsheet using Random.org. If I don’t have the file in my library I’ll go for the one above it and if it’s a Boardwalk Empire entry I’ll go to the last block that I haven’t seen. More fun doing a random film than plodding though in consecutive order. I’ll note the file number from my list (1-93) so you’ll know where it falls in the oeuvre. Anyway, I wanted to watch this next given that Shannon’s ‘Groundhog Day’ debut was a meagre two scenes and I wanted to see how he had progressed in his second credit, which took three years to appear. Guess wh...

  Here we go with another unrequested and unnecessary film blog. After seeing all of the IMDb 250 and all films by Michaels Caine and Fassbender, we move on to the third Michael, Mr Shannon. Why Michael Shannon? Well, he’s a recognisable actor who is usually the best thing in any production that he appears in. Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1974, Shannon first came to prominence, to my mind at least, in ‘Boardwalk Empire’. As the creepy and disturbed Agent Van Arlen he was a standout turn in an excellent show. I will re-watch this series as part of this process in half season chunks and will report accordingly on Shannon’s part, which I remember expanding as the show wore on. I have allowed nine entries for Boardwalk Empire ( eight half seasons and one for the shortened Season 9), giving Shannon a nice round 100 credits to consider. This number includes two 'in production' entries and a final one for shorts, music videos, TV guest spots and the like. I have seen many o...