Lawless (2012)

Lawless takes a unique perspective of the prohibition era away from the gangsters of the day to the people that ran the moonshine distilling and distribution businesses behind the scenes and the challenges they faced. Based on a true story, this movie follows 3 brothers as they fight for their position and respect in the illegal business.

Few actors bring a high level of intensity to the character they play as Tom Hardy does and for his role as Forrest Bondurant, it's no let down. Shia LaBouf is too hokey an actor to take seriously in his role and tended to undersell some scenes due to a lack of appropriate or sincere expression and others like when he was getting a beat down by Special Deputy Charley Rakes couldn't oversell the scene more unless he did actual cartwheels after getting hit. The rest of the cast gave a quality performance and overall this movie is an interesting and exciting film to see.

Fmovies: Prohibition in rural Virginia means bootleggers and moonshiners can make a lot of money producing liqueur . The Bondurant brothers are amongst the most successful moonshiners in the state . Their industry is under threat from Special Deputy Charley Rakes who will do anything to bring down the Bondurant brothers

I wouldn't say I enjoyed director John Hillcoat's previous work since they're a bit too painfully gloomy , downbeat and nihilistic to be enjoyed but I did respect his films . Here he has made his most commercial and accessible film featuring the tried and tested genre of the gangster film which is always popular with the public . Based upon the book The Wettest County In The World by Matt Bondurant . Hillcoat has made a film with commercial appeal but has probably made it a bit too commercial for the American box office for it to be a truly hard hitting and memorable film that the director is known for

The battle lines are drawn far too black and white . The Bondurants are merely following the business of America which is business and the fact that they're filling a market that due to the stupidity of politicians is an illegal market is neither here nor there because they are essentially real life American Robin Hoods risking , life , limb and liberty to keep ordinary Americans in home made apple brandy . Every businessman needs an enemy and this enemy is the American federal government who have employed Special Deputy Charley Rakes who isn't really interested in upholding the law but does the job because it involves torture and murder . Try and think of the Sheriff of Nottingham fused with a torturer from a Latin American fascist dictatorship played in a manner by Guy Pearce that suggests he thinks he's still appearing in pantomime at Preston Guild Hall and you've got the idea where this might be going wrong

You are left with the impression that Hillcoat is pulling out all the stops to give this commercial appeal . Not only are the good guys a bit too good , the bad guys a bit too bad leaving the audience in no doubt who to cheer for but is also trying to make a film trying to appeal to both teenagers and a female audience . We get a charming - it says here - coming of age story about Jack Bondurant who has fallen in love with a girl from the Amish church and we get a subplot about a romance between Forrest Bondurant and Maggie Beauford . In other words the story loses focus and is trying to do too much

This is a pity because LAWLESS is an impressive film in parts . The disgracefully underrated Tom Hardy just about the most impressive actor in the world in the last couple of years is good in the role of Forrest and does manage to flesh out his role as just being a misunderstood good guy . The cinematography is beautiful and Hillcoat does manage to paint a convincing picture of both time and place . That said you are still left with the impression Hillcoat is trying a bit too hard to make the film be a massive box office success and one wishes he'd stuck to his guns and made a movie involving a lot more dubious morality and nihilism that the director had done in GHOSTS OF THE CIVIL DEAD , THE PROPOSITION and THE ROAD

A lot of people are giving Lawless fairly negative reviews so I think I need to explain why it's such a great film. First of all it's really unique because of the specific setting of it during the prohibition in the United States which made it interesting viewing.

It is about three brothers who are running an illegal but successful business which soon attracts attention they don't want and trouble ensues. There is quite a lot of action in this film but it is mostly about the drama and the different things each character goes through.

There are some fantastic actors in this film who all show their versatility and most notable for me was Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf who did an amazing job of making their characters real to the audience and made you really care for them.

It is quite a long film but so many different things happen and it kept me glued from start to finish. There are some very grim scenes, some intense action, emotional scenes and of course romance and even a few comical moments - I think this film has a bit of everything.

This film is not all about the action so don't expect it to be, but the main element is the theme of brotherhood which I loved. Also the fact that Lawless is based on a true story made it really interesting for me.

It won't be for everyone but I thought this film was brilliant and would recommend it.

Lawless fmovies. This movie is based on a book written by a relative of some of the main characters depicted in this movie...just looked up Wikipedia, and the author was Matt Bondurant, whose grandfather, Jack Bondurant, is called "the runt of the litter" of the Bondurant brothers featured in this tale of moonshiners in the age of Prohibition in America. That book was called "The wettest county in the world" and the title refers to how much illegal alcohol was produced in that area. The novel was adapted for cinema by Australian alternative rock icon Nick Cave.

The story concerns how the Bondurant's once cozy relationship with sympathetic rural police is changed by the arrival of a corrupt Chicago law enforcement officer, Charlie Rakes (played by Australian Guy Pearce), who wants a cut of the Bondurant's illegal liquor business. Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) is not one to cave in to these demands. Things get ugly, but there is some romance in this movie too.

Whilst being a terrific yarn, the quirky central performances won't garner any Oscar attention, I wouldn't think. Guy Pearce's dandy/fop take on Charlie Rakes is highly stylised and amusing before he just becomes a plain horrible character. Tom Hardy's take on Forrest Bondurant incorporates many big cat like purrs, which also amuse.

Set in America's South, you mostly hear Southern drawls, so if Cave's screenplay is any good, you will miss a chunk of it unless you can decipher the more unintelligible dialogue in this movie...which I couldn't, but I understood enough of it not to lose the plot. Early on in the film, the reality of life in the South is not elided...you will see signs of racial segregation...literally.

Even though this movie doesn't have a lot of violence in it, when it does occur, it is bloody and horrific...both in what you actually see happen and the horrific implied violence which you do not see...except for the aftermath. These moments can be very confronting...it's horror movie territory.

Since the movie is based on a book by a member of the Bondurant family, you have to wonder how much is fictionalised in order to paint the clan in a positive light. Watching the end of the movie, concerning a final confrontation with Charlie Rakes, you have to wonder if it really happened that way.

Whilst not a 'chick flick', there are some romantic moments. There's a little bit of comedy too...I'm not sure if Pearce's and Hardy's performances are deliberately amusing, but apart from that aspect, there are some other amusing moments in the movie. I also liked the singing you first hear when Jack enters a church to be close to a woman he fancies (Australian actress Mia Wasikowska. There is a big Australian contingent in this movie. I did see Noah Taylor in the credits but don't remember seeing him in the movie).

Apparently this movie has things in common with Cave's original screenplay for the Australian movie "The proposition". I haven't seen that movie but if you like either movie, it might pay to check out the other if you haven't seen it.

I could see this movie winning an Oscar for best picture or adapted screenplay.

A ripping yarn.

Lawless is the story of the three Bondurant brothers from Franklin County, Virginia, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, and the runt of the litter Shia LaBoeuf. Before World War I the Bondurants made a good living selling moonshine, but now Prohibition has arrived and there are new problems on the horizon for those in that business.

One of the most colossal pieces of stupidity that America ever indulged in was Prohibition. We actually amended our constitution so that we could regulate morals. A good lesson for those who think regulation of one's personal behavior is a desired thing. What the Bondurants have to deal with is law enforcement which is in the form of a corrupt District Attorney Tim Tolin.

An idea like Prohibition is sure to bring out the corruption in many who see it as a way to take bribes. Tolin is one of those and he has a special deputy in Guy Pearce ready to enforce the law and those who don't bribe. That would be the Bondurants and we have the makings of an old fashioned mountain feud brewing.

LaBoeuf has a lot of trouble living up to the legend his brothers have created. In fact his weakness is the cause of a lot of problems. But when a young mountain kid Dane DeHaan is murdered by Pearce that gets a war started.

Both LaBoeuf and Pearce deliver some standout performances in Lawless. This is based on a novelization of some real incidents by a descendant of the Bondurant family. The recreation of Prohbition era rural Virginia is well done. Definitely worth a look.

I really like The Proposition so this reteam of Hillcoat and writer Nick Cave, who since he composed the greatest score in cinematic history in The Assassination of Jesse James can do no wrong in my eyes, was very promising, especially with a set piece and era that we haven't seen in a long while. Unfortunately, Lawless is tedious through and through. It's sequences go from bursts of heartless violence to development-less talking. The problem is its atmosphere, which could also be attributed to the choice of digital photography. It tries to be gritty, with its music hinting back to one of my favourite western TV shows, Deadwood, but the slick cinematography is just completely lifeless. It just feels like nobody's heart was truly in it (besides Guy Peace's menacing villain) with no chemistry between anyone. It was a huge mistake to try and force some romance subplots in here. There's nothing too bad about Lawless, besides its humourless and cold approach, it's just disappointingly average given the talent.

6/10