The specter of gun violence hangs over Peace In The Valley, Tyler Riggs’ new drama about a family’s struggle to make sense out of a senseless act. In the opening scene, Ashley Rhodes (Brit Shaw) and her husband John (Michael Abbott Jr.) are in a supermarket with their son Jesse (William Samiri) when a gunman begins randomly firing into the store. John, a firefighter and a veteran, rushes towards the attacker and dies a hero. But that brings little comfort to Ashley, who’s not only mourning her husband but struggling with Jesse’s budding interest in hunting. 

The re-emergence of John’s identical twin Billy — also played by Abbott Jr. — into Ashley and Jesse’s lives further complicates this already volatile situation, forcing Ashley to conquer her grief for the sake of both herself and her son. Anchored by Shaw’s wrenching lead performance, this timely, resonant film dramatizes the sobering real-world consequences of America’s obsession with firearms.--Frederic Boyer

Tyler Riggs