Lawless (2012)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Great Film overall

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It is about three brothers who are running an illegal but successful business which soon attracts attention they don't want and trouble ensues. There is quite a lot of action in this film but it is mostly about the drama and the different things each character goes through. There are some fantastic actors in this film who all show their versatility and most notable for me was Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf who did an amazing job of making their characters real to the audience and made you really care for them. It is quite a long film but so many different things happen and it kept me glued from start to finish. There are some very grim scenes, some intense action, emotional scenes and of course romance and even a few comical moments - I think this film has a bit of everything. This film is not all about the action so don't expect it to be, but the main element is the theme of brotherhood which I loved. Also the fact that Lawless is based on a true story made it really interesting for me.

WHY WAS I ATTRACTED TO THIS MOVIE? 1.tom hardy is one of my favorite stars(best performance in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES). 2.I like movies depicting old timely American villages.I LIKED IT BECAUSE 1.a feel good movie, almost happy ending. 2.super performances by each and every member of the cast. 3.good story, nothing extraordinary but decent. 4.music is soothing. 5.larger than life character of tom hardy. YOU MAY LIKE IT IF YOU LIKE 1.tom hardy. 2.old American countryside depicting movies. 3.a feel good drama. YOU MAY HATE IT IF YOU HATE 1.larger than life characters.

John Hillcoat's Lawless is the very definition of badass. Bathed in blood and moonshine, gilded by Nick Cave's rustic, textured musical score and brought alive by vivid and varied performances from an eclectic, grizzled cast, it's one of the most enjoyable gangster pictures to come along in recent years. It follows the rough and tumble Bondurant brothers, fabled bootleggers who defy prohibition and run their product all over the aptly named 'wettest county in the world', until the greedy and very corrupt arm of the law snakes its way into the territory. The eldest and toughest is Forrest, a grumbly, shambling Tom Hardy who's something of a gentle giant, until the straight razor comes out and he's not. Jason Clarke is Howard the booze hound, who has sour mash coursing through his veins and a temper to prove it, and Shia Leboeuf, somewhat miscast, does his best as the youngest of the three. The three of them run an idyllic little manufacturing and distribution ring spiralling out of their county into the nearby area, until trouble comes looking for them, in the form of a monster played by Guy Pearce. Now when I say monster, I mean it.. when the villain in your film is scarier than Gary 'Scary' Oldman's roguish supporting work, you know you have one hell of an antagonist. Pearce, sporting a sour look and parted hair that Moses could lead his people through, is Charlie Rakes, some kind of government dispatched deputy whose sole purpose is to make out heroic trio's lives exceedingly difficult. Cheerfully sadistic and ruthlessly corrupt, Rakes is a bona fide moustache twirling psychopath and Pearce milks the role for all it's worth, as per usual in his case. Oldman does appear briefly but memorably as lively gangster Floyd Banner, a shark of a businessman with a fondness for tommy gun tantrums resulting in vehicular mayhem. The film walks a line between two distinct tones, which can be seen in the characteristics of the pair of older brothers: Hardy is laid back, laconic and ambles along at his own pace, which any film set in the south just has to have a bit of, whilst Clarke is volatile, fired up and hot blooded, also needed in crime fare. So you have a relaxed, violent, wistful piece with a mean streak that sneaks up on you more than a few times. Any Ozark tale wouldn't be complete without a romantic flair, as Hardy is swept off his feet by mysterious, plucky Jessica Chastain and Lebeouf has an eye for a beautiful Amish girl played by Mia Wasikowska. The film looks visually magnificent, shot in broad, sturdy rural strokes by Benoit Delhomme, and strict, impressive attention to detail is paid throughout. While maybe not as gritty or mythic as it wants to be, or at least as far as Hillcoat's previous work has been (The Proposition remains the stomach churning gold standard), it's a full blown, R rated crime picture, something more than welcome in an age when the genre has had its blood somewhat watered down. Highly recommended.

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.