Deep in the Heart aka Handgun (1983)

She said no and she meant it.

Having left Boston to start a new job in Dallas, Kathleen Sullivan soon makes friends and begins to enjoy her new life. Larry Keeler is immediately attracted to Kathleen, but Kathleen makes it clear she would rather have a friend than a boyfriend. At the end of one date, Kathleen gives Larry a peck on the cheek and dashes into her apartment, leaving Larry confused and angry. On the next date, however, Larry is determined to get what he wants—at gunpoint. The tables start to turn when Kathleen joins a local gun club and buys her own gun. Now she becomes the hunter—on a vengeful mission.

Producer, writer and director Tony Garnett (Prostitute) was fascinated and troubled by the proliferation and celebration of firearms in the United States. So, he traveled from his native England to Texas to make a dramatic film that would explore the widespread availability of guns there and the accompanying potential for deadly violence. The result was the hard-hitting Deep in the Heart (released in the U.K. as Handgun). Restored in 4K from its original 35mm camera negative for its worldwide Blu-ray premiere, the film boldly examines issues that continue to torment American society over forty years later.

Directed by: Tony Garnett
Starring: Karen Young, Clayton Day, Suzie Humphreys, Ben Jones
1983/ 101 min / 1.85 / English Mono