Review: Lawless

Review: Lawless

Expectation is a killer. The whole situation is always very unfortunate - "Oh look, that film has a brilliant cast, it must also have a brilliant story!"

While this is sometimes the case, Lawless is unfortunately an exception. It excels at providing a very entertaining movie in many areas, however the plot itself is a moral jigsaw puzzle that never quite happily clicks in to place.

Based on the book The Wettest Country In The World by Matt Bondurant, Lawless follows the true story of the Bondurant brothers, a trio of Franklin County, Virginia dwelling siblings whose illegal liquor bootlegging activities are carried out behind their busy, popular bar. Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBouf) find their lives running smoothly enough, as the general consensus in the town is that the Bondurant brothers are invincible to the law and their rival bootlegger Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman).

That is until Special Detective Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) travels from Chicago to pop his nosy head into their business. However, it soon becomes clear that Rakes has his own agenda and his grudge match against the Bondurants soon begins to level the small town and causes distress and disaster to the people within. Cue a bloody battle for survival as the Bondurant brothers find their status elevated from criminals to outlawed heroes, fighting to restore peace and order to their family and town.

Director John Hillcoat, whose previous projects include The Proposition and The Road, leaves little to the imagination when it comes to the violence. Tom Hardy's character in particular recieves a horrific beating at certain points, all of which is seen in clear focus, while the bloody shootout climax at the end of the movie is as gory as a 15-rated drama can really get away with.

Don't worry, though. That's a good thing.

The hard-hitting nature of Lawless relies on this visual impact. It may not be particularly fun to watch, but the violence pulls us in and makes us care much more about these characters whose imperfect yet peaceful lives have been shattered by this power-hungry, corrupt scumbag from the big city. 

Ah, yes. The characters.

Tom Hardy's had a pretty varied year so far, with romantic comedy This Means War and epic superhero drama The Dark Knight Rises under his belt, in which he is completely unrecognisable. Lawless continues to show his diversity as well as his 'hard-man' image, as Forrest, his character, is a quiet yet violent man who would do anything to protect those closest to him, even if his criminality is frowned upon by the mainstream. Hardy does give a very outstanding performance as usual, his subdued nature acting as a magnet for our curiosity and pulling us in to the film. His character's fondness for knitwear is also rather charming.

Unfortunately, however, the other major star billed as a primary character and used rather prominently in the trailers and promotional material is wasted in a cameo. Gary Oldman's character, Floyd Banner, is seen very briefly - it's also a shame that he doesn't have any screentime at all with Hardy, his Dark Knight Rises co-star. It's hard not to feel cheated when we are promised an actor of Oldman's callibre for a film in which his time on screen is very short indeed.

As for Shia LaBouf, his performance is rather more predictable. The Transformers star, who has recently said he is going to shy away from mega-franchises in future, is once again cast as the young wannabe looking up to his siblings and desperately trying to prove himself. It's all very 'been there, done that', but LaBouf just about gets away with it as his character progresses throughout the film. Guy Pearce's villainous character is also very predictable, frustratingly so. The only surprising thing about him is a lack of a moustache which, if present, he would surely be twirling 24/7.

Which brings us to the villainous nature of the movie itself - we are effectively rooting for lawbreakers, as the film uses the good old Godfather trick: win sympathy for your criminal protagonists by making the criminal antagonists just that little bit more conniving and evil. It's a tired premise, and when the movie's conclusion is wrapped up in such a nice little package with no repercussions, the concept feels very overused and predictable indeed.

Still, while the story is a little rough around the edges, the set design is beautifully clear and the shooting locations are stunning. The Prohibition era of the late 20s is brought to life brilliantly, and the small town of Franklin County looks fantastic and perfectly believable, even if there is little exploration carried out for us to see more of the environment.

 Summary

Lawless is a violent, cruel story which forces us to have faith in the bad guys as they take on an even more horrific enemy - a concept that has been done countless times, and one which is given no originality at all here. The plot is also wrapped up a little too neatly to believe considering the content of the film, which leaves us feeling that Lawless tried a little too hard to be an epic sucker punch and settles instead for a block and parry.

That said, however, the acting is fantastic and that's enough to carry the movie on its own. Tom Hardy, Shia LaBouf and Guy Pearce excel in their roles, making us really feel towards the characters be it sympathy or disgust. The violence in the film is a little surprising and certainly pushes us into the movie - where other productions would opt to shy away from showing the blood, this one lives up to its name by breaking the rules of a 15-rated movie. It's a little over-familiar, but Lawless is a decent flick to end the summer season with.

6/10 

See it if you liked: No Country For Old Men (2007), True Grit (2010), The Proposition (2005)