Lawless (2012)

John Hillcoat may not be the most prolific of directors, (just 6 feature films in 30 years), but with a John Hillcoat film you know precisely what you are going to get; gritty, extremely violent, male-orientated entertainments that, more likely or not, will be visually stunning and probably with a screenplay by Nick Cave. "Lawless" is archetypal Hillcoat. Apparently based on a true story it's set in Depression-era Virginia and is about a trio of bootlegger brothers , (Tom Hardy, Shia LeBeouf and Jason Clarke), who are targeted by a corrupt Deputy Sheriff, (Guy Pearce), and again Nick Cave wrote the screenplay and again it is almost sickeningly violent which means it's not going to appeal to everyone.Despite the talent involved, (and that includes cinematographer Benoit Delhomme and composers Cave and Warren Ellis), this is one of Hillcoat's lesser films. There are too many characters and too many star names, (Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Waiskowska are also involved), and too meandering a plot but even lesser Hillcoat is a cut above most of what passes for multiplex entertainment these days. Surprisingly, Hillcoat has remained more of a cult director than someone commanding the mainstream and maybe that's for the best. He may not be the most prolific of directors and his films may not bag loads of money but at least he has kept his cinematic dignity.

I didn't have high expectations about this movie, even though it consists of some well-known Hollywood names. I guess it was just as I expected, but nothing more. Probably a bit exaggerated at some points, especially during the end, and in some points hard to believe it's based on a true story. There were probably some fictitious elements mixed in, which made it not so different from an average action movie. The acting was one of the brighter spots of this movie; everyone did their part in a rather believable way, as pretty much all actors brought the characters to life. Overall, it was an okay movie, but you won't miss very much not seeing it.DISCLAIMER : Everything stated in this review is entirely matter of personal opinion and doesn't have to coincide with the opinions of other reviewers

Lawless isn't flawless, but boy was it a good time. This is one bad-ass, gun-blazing, gangster movie. It's piled high with action. The story is not treated as fascinatingly, and perhaps character development needed some fine tuning. But you can't say anything bad about the acting. Tom Hardy.. again, he might be the actor of our time. Shia does an incredible job here. There's a real actor hiding behind all of that craziness. Then, there's Guy Pierce, who absolutely steals every scene as the bad guy. What a monster. Nothing beats well acted evil in a film, and he pulls it off Christoph Waltz-style. That haircut will haunt your nightmares. Over all, this is a highly underrated film. It may look on the surface to be as bland as a canceled HBO mini-series. Don't judge the book by it's cover. Give it a watch.

Franklin County, Virginia was at one time called "the wettest county in the world". It's also the setting for the film "Lawless". This film boasts gruesome reenactments of the life of "moonshiners" in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Director John Hillcoat did a wonderful job portraying the recklessness of the roaring 20's. Unfortunately, a combination of a confusing soundtrack, excessive violence and a dash of overacting diverts our attention from the main plot.The focus of the movie is young Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) and his struggle to get into the family business while earning some respect from his brothers Forest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke). On his journey to becoming a backwoods gangster, Jack teams up with life long friend Cricket Pate (Dane DeHaan). The two friends seem to be making it until they run into some bigger fish in the ever- shrinking pond of Franklin County. Included in this gun slinging action movie are a couple of love stories that make for some interesting scenes.The soundtrack to this movie is a little inconsistent. At times, the music just doesn't match the emotions that are being acted out on screen. Then, other times it matches our emotions perfectly. Scenes could have been made to feel more personable if the soundtrack was better. On a more positive note, the setting, set design, costumes and makeup were phenomenal. Throughout the movie, we see most of the men in three-piece suits showing us they have plenty of money from the illegal sale of alcohol. Even the cars in the movie mirror the reputation of the invincible and untouchable Bondurant family. Clearly, the prohibition era was a time where gun slinging outlaws and corrupt officials were the norm. As the title says, there were no "laws" for these bootleggers. With that being said, the amount of violence in this film seems a little bit excessive. There are huge amounts of blood, beatings and even some severed body parts. It all just seems a little unnecessary. It does show that the Bondurant's are not to be messed with. Too bad it also makes the plot difficult to follow. Unfortunately, the acting in this movie is really pulling it down like an anchor. Shia LaBeouf and Dane DeHaan are two of the star actors in this film. Oddly enough, they're the guys that have the most unreal and awkward dialogues. For example, Jack sees Floyd Banner shoot someone in the middle of town. He runs to Cricket's house to tell him what he just witnessed. The scene is going well until Jack starts yelling Crickets name. It sounds like LaBeouf is just forcing his accent too much and it has no natural flow. It seems minor, but it all adds up and by the end of the movie it's just annoying.Overall, this film could have been put together more effectively, but overall Hillcoat did a pretty good job making a prohibition era love story action movie. With less violence, a better thought out soundtrack and more natural acting, this movie would be outstanding. Instead, it is relatively entertaining to watch and may inspire you to purchase a Thompson sub-machine gun, a three-piece suit and a felt hat. Just remember no one will ever be as invincible as the Bonderant's.