Lawless (B or 3/4 stars)
'Lawless' (directed by John Hillcoat, The Proposition, The Road; and written/scored by Nick Cave) tells the 'true story' of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who tried to achieve the American Dream in Virginia's Deliverance-like Franklin County during the Prohibition-Era. The Bondurant brothers, brooding Forrest (Tom Hardy), maniacal drunk Howard (Jason Clarke), & timid Jack (Shia LaBeouf) aren't the only moonshine bootleggers in the back hills, but they're the best & most respected (if that term can be used, haha).
The brothers' livelihood is threatened by the arrival of Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), a greasy, diabolical agent from Chicago who has come to Franklin to stop those who violate the law. What that means is that those who pay a fee are allowed to continue bootlegging while those who don't are shut down, often by the use of horrific means (beaten, tarred-&-feathered, sliced, diced, sometimes killed!). The Bondurant bros. refuse to give in to Charlie Rakes & their stubbornness instigates a war btwn. them & the corrupt law enforcers of the land.
As is often the case with Depression-era gangster flicks, the lawbreakers are the good guys & the lawmen are the villains. 'Lawless' is no different. However, when it comes to spilling blood, we see that the Bondurants can be just as brutal as their adversaries (look out for an icky item-in-a-jar scene). Yet, as bad as they can be at times, Rakes is FAR worse. He's the kind of sleazy bad guy that audiences want to see have a gory end. This role requires some over-the-top hamminess & Guy Pearce knows just how to play Rakes; menacing, vile, but with a hint of eclectic cartoonery (wears perfume, dyes his hair black, screams a lot).
Some scenes throughout are infused with a high level of tension, especially once the tit-for-tat battles commence. Caught in the crossfire of this bootlegging war is Maggie (Jessica Chastain), a dancer from big city Chicago who fled to Franklin County to escape the very kind of violence that she finds herself in the middle of as Forrest's lover. Her story is truncated to make way for the main narrative - which stinks - but Chastain impresses, once again. In fact, everyone impresses; right down to Chronicle's Dane DeHaan as Jack's best pal, Cricket. Jack's (LaBeouf) romance with a preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska) is very sweet; and there's a very tense scene involving her in it. But like Chastain, Wasikowska's character goes fairly underdeveloped. Similarly, Gary Oldman's role as an enigmatic Chicago mobster is smaller than we want. I get the impression that various themes & subplots had to be trimmed so as to make for a film that clocks in under 2 hours.
While 'Lawless' is no masterpiece, it tells an engaging story of family, entrepreneurship, & corruption. It's also a solid outlaw adventure. And it even finds time for moments of dark comedy & rootable romance. Now, those underdeveloped subplots/characters irk me. But this is a well-acted, well-made (sets, costumes, sound design) gangster flick that deserves to be seen. I have a penchant for any movie that can transport me away. This film does that so well - with evocative cinematography that gives us a vivid, raw depiction of the time & place. And so, I am more forgiving of this movie's shortcomings because of that, alone.
The brothers' livelihood is threatened by the arrival of Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), a greasy, diabolical agent from Chicago who has come to Franklin to stop those who violate the law. What that means is that those who pay a fee are allowed to continue bootlegging while those who don't are shut down, often by the use of horrific means (beaten, tarred-&-feathered, sliced, diced, sometimes killed!). The Bondurant bros. refuse to give in to Charlie Rakes & their stubbornness instigates a war btwn. them & the corrupt law enforcers of the land.
As is often the case with Depression-era gangster flicks, the lawbreakers are the good guys & the lawmen are the villains. 'Lawless' is no different. However, when it comes to spilling blood, we see that the Bondurants can be just as brutal as their adversaries (look out for an icky item-in-a-jar scene). Yet, as bad as they can be at times, Rakes is FAR worse. He's the kind of sleazy bad guy that audiences want to see have a gory end. This role requires some over-the-top hamminess & Guy Pearce knows just how to play Rakes; menacing, vile, but with a hint of eclectic cartoonery (wears perfume, dyes his hair black, screams a lot).
Some scenes throughout are infused with a high level of tension, especially once the tit-for-tat battles commence. Caught in the crossfire of this bootlegging war is Maggie (Jessica Chastain), a dancer from big city Chicago who fled to Franklin County to escape the very kind of violence that she finds herself in the middle of as Forrest's lover. Her story is truncated to make way for the main narrative - which stinks - but Chastain impresses, once again. In fact, everyone impresses; right down to Chronicle's Dane DeHaan as Jack's best pal, Cricket. Jack's (LaBeouf) romance with a preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska) is very sweet; and there's a very tense scene involving her in it. But like Chastain, Wasikowska's character goes fairly underdeveloped. Similarly, Gary Oldman's role as an enigmatic Chicago mobster is smaller than we want. I get the impression that various themes & subplots had to be trimmed so as to make for a film that clocks in under 2 hours.
While 'Lawless' is no masterpiece, it tells an engaging story of family, entrepreneurship, & corruption. It's also a solid outlaw adventure. And it even finds time for moments of dark comedy & rootable romance. Now, those underdeveloped subplots/characters irk me. But this is a well-acted, well-made (sets, costumes, sound design) gangster flick that deserves to be seen. I have a penchant for any movie that can transport me away. This film does that so well - with evocative cinematography that gives us a vivid, raw depiction of the time & place. And so, I am more forgiving of this movie's shortcomings because of that, alone.