Based on a true story and set between the years of 1931 and 1940, John Hillcoat’s prohibition period piece, Lawless (formerly The Wettest County), follows the legendary and invincible Bondurant Brothers, a family of bootleggers determined to avoid letting the depression take them down by keep their thriving moonshine business alive in the mountain of Franklin County, Virginia.
When Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) arrives from Chicago, the new law gives the brothers, and everyone else in the wettest county in the world, an ultimatum, either pay him a cut of the profits to let the business continue or he’ll shut you down for good. The Bondurant Brothers don’t take too kindly to Rake’s ultimatum, especially Forrest (Tom Hardy), and, in a ferocious manner, makes it very clear that they won’t do either.
While the brothers keep their simple operation going, the youngest brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) dreams of bigger and better things, like fast cars, stylish clothing and woman, but eventually his ambition has serious consequences for him, his family and the other townsman.
The personalities and dynamic of the Bondurant Brothers is what a majority of the film rests on and because of solid acting and being interesting characters, the three of them are able carry it all with relative ease. Forrest is the leader of the gang and is a well built but soft spoken man who mumbles and grunts his words but backs it all up with brutal and beastly-like violence. Howard (Jason Clarke) is the crazy brother who had fought in WWI and now lives for booze and violence. Jack is the youngest one, a smart but soft brother who wants nothing more than to be a part of Howard and Forrest’s team because he idolizes those who kick ass, like Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), a big city gangster wanted by the police. Forrest tells Jack that “it’s not the violence, it’s the distance we’re prepared to go” that makes the brothers a force to be reckoned with and perfectly sets the stage for what’s to come.
From the first two minutes of the film Hillcoat had me hooked. The film opens with voiceover from Jack where he establishes the legend of his brothers, especially Forrest, the extremely strong, brass knuckle wielding brother who can’t be killed. When that groundwork was laid, you knew you were in for a treat, especially the first time you see Forrest prove that he is exactly what the legends describe.
Hillcoat does a great job of shaping the story. He pays close attention to developing all of the characters while also making sure that the story is coherent and flows well. In fact, the story flows better than well. Even with a happy-go-lucky scene in the middle of the film revolving around Shia and
his buddy Cricket (Dane DeHaan), Lawless feels like one giant crescendo that builds up to a huge and suspenseful drop. As you watch the film you can start to feel the tension growing ever so slowly, like someone gradually pulling a rubber band back, until one of the most liked characters gets killed and everything officially snaps, resulting in an explosion of violence and hate, all of which is vengeance driven.
I personally loved Lawless though I have a feeling most people will enjoy it but not at the same level that I did. I’m very partial to gangster-like films but when you tack on the entire bootlegging aspect and a new generation of all star talent, plus a few veterans, I had a feeling the movie could do no wrong. The stand out performers were Tom Hardy, who somehow manages to always play badass, larger than life characters, Guy Pearce, who was extremely menacing and crushed his role as the ruthless and uncompromising villain, Gary Oldman was exceptional even though we only saw him for about ten minutes as the famous outlaw, Jessica Chastain, who seemingly can do no wrong in any role, and, hell, even Shia did a great job.
By the end of the feature one thing certainly becomes clear, John Hillcoat’s Lawless is an engulfing film that completely lives up to its name. It’s an intense and suspenseful crime drama that deserves high praise for its class acting, riveting story and all around badass nature. If you’re at all interested in gangster films, films about rebellious souls or like anything about the bootlegging era then you have no choice but to make it a point to see this film, though Tom Hardy alone is reason enough to see it.
Rating: A mesmerizing and well constructed pic that’s elevated even further by its powerhouse cast (8.4/10)
Lawless is set to hit theaters on August 29th and stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman.
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