Rated
R (Strong Bloody Violence, Language and some Sexuality/Nudity)
Running
Time: 1 hour & 56 Minutes
Cast-
Shia
LaBeouf-Jack Bondurant
Tom
Hardy-Forrest Bondurant
Jason
Clarke-Howard Bondurant
Guy
Pearce-Special Agent Charlie Rakes
Jessica
Chastain-Maggie Beauford
Mia
Wasikowska-Bertha Minnix
Gary
Oldman-Floyd Banner
Dane
DeHaan-Cricket Pate
Bill
Camp-Sheriff Hodges
Lew
Temple-Deputy Henry Abshire
Marcus
Hester-Deputy Jeff Richards
Noah
Taylor-Gummy Walsh
Tim
Tolin-Mayor Mason Wardell
Directed
by John Hillcoat
 |
| Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy lead in an all-star cast in John Hillcoat's late-summer gangster film, "Lawless." |
Marvel's
"The Avengers" may have kick-started summer 2012 with a bang thanks
to its record-breaking $207.4 million debut but the season instead ended on a
typically quiet note over Labor Day weekend as audiences largely stayed away
from multiplexes. The last few weeks of August has always been used by
Hollywood studios as a dumping ground for films with low box office prospects
and this year was certainly no different. Closing out the summer is John
Hillcoat's "Lawless," based on Matt Bondurant's 2008 historical novel
The Wettest County in the World,
which tells the tale of his grandfather and granduncles who ran a massive
moonshining operation in the mountains of southwest Virginia during the
tail-end of Prohibition in 1931. If you paid attention in history class, you
should know that the United States government nationally banned the sale,
manufacture, and transportation of alcohol through the Eighteenth Amendment to
the Constitution, which was ratified in 1919 and put into effect a year later.
However, the law proved to be immensely unpopular as it led to the growth of
vast criminal organizations and was repealed fourteen years later in 1933 with
the Twenty-First Amendment (the only instance in which an Amendment repealed
another). The only good thing to have
come out of Prohibition was the rise of the 'gangster film,' a subgenre that
has continued to endure to this day. Given Hillcoat's pedigree with 2005's
"The Proposition" and 2009's "The Road," you would think
that The Weinstein Company would pick a better release date for
"Lawless" instead of dropping it on the last week of summer. That's
not a knock against the film and while "Lawless" may suffer from a
flawed story, it remains a bloody, compelling piece of historical fiction
backed up by an impressive ensemble cast.
Set in 1931 during the Prohibition
era, three brothers, Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke), and Jack
Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf), run a highly successful moonshining operation in a
backwater town in Franklin County, Virginia, using their bar as a front for
their illegal activities with the help of a cripple named Cricket Pate (Dane
DeHaan). Selling to everyone in the county (including the police), the
Bondurant Brothers are something of a local legend after oldest brother Howard
returned from World War I as the sole survivor of a beach landing where the
rest of his platoon drowned. Forrest contracted the flu with his parents but
was the only one to recover, giving the locals the impression that they are 'indestructible.'
While moving some boxes onto the family truck, Jack witnesses mobster Floyd
Banner (Gary Oldman) gun down a competitor. Banner briefly makes eye contact
with Jack and gives him a wink before he leaves. Meanwhile, a former dancer
from Chicago named Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain) arrives at the
Bondurant's bar looking for a job. Although uncomfortable around women, Forrest
hires her as the new waitress. The Bondurant Brothers' way of life is soon
threatened with the arrival of Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) on
behalf of the mayor, Mason Wardell. Rakes demands a cut of the Bondurant's
profits but Forrest refuses and warns that he will kill him if he ever shows
his face again. Meanwhile, Jack is tired of being just a driver and is
desperate to play a more integral role in his brothers' operation so he can
impress Bertha Minnix (Mia Wasikowska), the daughter of a local Mennonite preacher.
As the other bootleggers give in to Rakes' violent intimidation tactics, the
stubbornness of the Bondurant Brothers soon instigates a war that threatens to
tear Franklin County apart.
John Hillcoat's "Lawless" does not reinvent
the gangster film but the script from Australian musician Nick Cave strikes an
appropriately grim tone, drawing you into the story by exploring a number of interesting
dichotomies. This is a tale of contrasts and at the forefront is the
relationship between Forrest and Jack, who also serves as the film's occasional
narrator. Both hold differing views on the use of violence and while Forrest
may be a hulk of a man like his older brother Howard, he tends to hide his
violent nature with his taciturn but soft-spoken demeanor. He even sports a
cardigan like Mr. Rogers! However, Forrest understands the nature of the
business he's in and when push comes to shove, he does whatever it takes to
protect not only himself but also his family, always carrying a set of brass
knuckles in his pocket. Violence and fear are powerful tools but he does not
abuse them. Jack is the runt of the litter who shies away from getting his
hands dirty. He can't even bring himself to kill a pig for dinner yet he runs
around like a boy playing gangster, enjoying the fast cars and fancy clothes in
an attempt to impress Bertha. It is only when Charlie Rakes comes knocking on
his door that he finally understands what he must do.
The Bondurant Brothers
may be the protagonists but Hillcoat does not go out of his way to romanticize
them and instead depicts the three as violent men who abide by a strict code of
family honor. There's a certain bit of irony when Rakes is meant to enforce the law but resorts to sadistic
means to get what he wants while the Bondurant's try to lead a quiet life
despite their illegal activities. The violence is often brutal and stands in
stark contrast to the idyllic, rustic setting of Appalachia. While it was
filmed in Georgia, the production design from Chris Kennedy and the beautiful cinematography
from Benoît Delhomme is quite convincing into making you think its shot in
Virginia. "Lawless" does suffer from some flaws as its tangential
subplots are woefully underdeveloped. Forrest's relationship with Maggie
manages to produce some humorous moments and has some measure of depth but
Jack's naïve romance with Bertha feels tacked on and adds little to the film
other than to fill up the running time. Also, despite being the eldest
Bondurant, Howard is never shown to be wrestling with any moral dilemmas and is
simply presented as a raging brute. Floyd Banner appears in a grand total of three scenes, making his inclusion
pointless. These issues are not enough to drag "Lawless" down but it
does create a somewhat disjointed narrative where Hillcoat struggles with
balancing its historical elements with other embellishments for the sake of
drama.
By far the best element of the film is the ensemble cast that Hillcoat has
managed to assemble. Leading this cast is Shia LaBeouf, who has appeared in a
number of summer blockbusters such as Michael Bay's critically-reviled
"Transformers" trilogy and 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull" but is now making a concerted effort to avoid
big-budget studio filmmaking. Capturing Jack Bondurant's boyish naïveté and
arrogance, LaBeouf delivers a surprisingly good performance and manages to hold
his own against the likes of Hardy, Pearce, and Chastain. Compared to the
eloquent Bane from "The Dark Knight Rises," Tom Hardy's Forrest is
much more subdued, a man of few words who understands that violence is a
necessity given their line of work yet exhibits a grandfatherly disposition as
he silently sits outside the Bondurant's bar, acknowledging others with only a
telling grunt. However, it is Guy Pearce who steals the film as Special Agent
Charlie Rakes. With his well-oiled hair and effeminate voice, Rakes is by far
one of the most despicable villains to grace the silver screen this year, with
Pearce throwing himself into the role and chewing up the scenery with genuine
relish. While his role amounts to little more than a cameo, Gary Oldman brings
his A-game as the cocky Floyd Banner while Jessica Chastain exudes sex appeal
as the mysterious Maggie Beauford, although her back-story feels like an
afterthought. Mia Wasikowska and Jason Clarke are fine in their respective roles
as Bertha Minnix and Howard Bondurant but the script gives them very little do.
Released on August 29, 2012, "Lawless" received mixed reviews with
66% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that the film 'doesn't quite achieve the
epic status it strains for, but it's too beautifully filmed and powerfully
acted to dismiss.' It premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival and
competed for the prestigious Palme d'Or award but ultimately lost out to Michael
Haneke's "Love." Despite business at the multiplex being slow as
usual over Labor Day weekend, "Lawless" managed to eke out a $12.9
million debut over four days ($16.7 million so far) but the film was always
going to be a tough sell given its period setting and subject matter. Hell, it
played to a practically empty theater on a weekday afternoon, with a grand
total of two people in the
audience…and this was including me! "Lawless" may be a lesser effort
from John Hillcoat due to its problematic script but the film's bleak tone,
gorgeous visuals, and impressive cast more than make up for this, a fine capper
to what has been an unpredictable summer.
Final
Rating: 4 out of 5
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