Lawless (2012)
Grade: C+
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, Mia Wasikowska and Gary Oldman
PREMISE: Three brothers in rural Virginia distribute alcohol illegally during the Prohibition era, leading to many nasty disputes and armed clashes with law enforcement and rival gangs.
RATED R for Gore and bloody violence (including a beating and other disturbing images), nudity and sensuality, language, and alcohol use
In the mood for a blood-splattered, gunshots galore, cuss-filled fest about guys who like to chug beers in their spare time that doesn't star Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme? Then Lawless is the movie for you. Quickly-paced, shockingly violent and filled with enough familiar faces that even lukewarm movie buffs should feel right at home, director John Hillcoat's adaptation of Matt Bondurant's "The Wettest County in the World" transplants the viewer into backwoods Virginia, 1931, where the alcohol is strong, the accents are stronger, and, as the film's tagline boasts, "Outlaws become Heroes". Arriving rather unheralded in late August despite some well-known faces and action-packed content, the movie lives and breathes that backwoods country, as does its author, the great grandson and great-grand nephew of the trio of brothers who make up the key figures in this tale. Yes, the Bondurant brothers really did sell alcohol under-the-table (or out in the open, to police officers, no less, if the film's opening scene is to be believed) during Prohibition. I don't know if they really had to deal with sicko baddies like Guy Pearce's Charlie Rakes, a bloodthirsty deputy who pops up about 30 minutes in, but, as ever, the fact that this is based on a true story adds a level of intrigue to the goings-on, especially as it pertains to one character who, it appears, cannot be killed.
Plot: The Prohibition Era is well under way, but out in the woods where you can make your own brew, the alcohol business is still booming. A particular affinity for developing and dispersing the stuff has made kings out of a trio of brothers in Franklin County, VA, the Bondurants. Howard (Jason Clarke), the oldest, is a bulldog who is always drunk and always up for a fight. Forrest (Tom Hardy), the middle brother and ringleader, is prone to philosophical mutterings and the occasional brass-knuckled punch. And, of course, there's the kid, Jack (Shia LaBeouf) the youngest child whose heavily-accented tones narrate the film. Early on, Jack is merely the driver, while the older brothers splurge and sell and make most of the money, but Howard is getting unreliable and Forrest might, might be thinking of settling down, now that a comely, affectionate woman (Jessica Chastain) has come into his life. Jack has his own crush--Bertha, the preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska, of Alice in Wonderland fame)--but he knows he won't get anywhere with her, or the local townfolk, while he's in his brothers' shadow.
One day, a slick and shiny Chicago deputy (Pearce, playing possibly his most reprehensible character yet) comes riding up to the brothers' shop with a District Attorney in tow, claiming the Bondurants had better agree to strike a deal to sell to his clients and share profits with him or give up the business altogether. Forrest, of course, isn't having it, but the visit gives Jack an idea of the sorts who are willing to buy liquor. On a gamble and a prayer, he sells 200 gallons of moonshine to another respected/feared local gangster, Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), making a huge score and learning just how profitable business can be. Recruiting Cricket (Dane DeHaan), a whip-smart and trustworthy friend, he immediately begins selling booze daily, scoring piles of money that become fancy cars, snazzy suits, and dresses for his lady friend. But the Chicago deputy Rakes isn't going anywhere, especially when two of his hired guns are butchered by Forrest after a botched assassination attempt. He catches Jack and beats him to a pulp, blows up Jack and Cricket's private stash, and locks down the county in an attempt to end the Bondurants' business once and for all.
What Works?
Somehow, after three Transformers movies and Indiana Jones, I had stopped thinking of Shia LaBeouf as a serious actor, but he goes all in here, working hard, in particular, to nail down the borderline-unintelligible backwoods accent. He's still too baby-faced to say this is his becoming-a-man role (it's a shock to hear him snarl the MF word at one point), but he's a likable actor, willing to try anything, he's no slouch at emoting, and his young features do serve to add to his vulnerability.
The other actor who really leaves an impression is Guy Pearce, who looks freakish (borderline reptillian, in fact)--with gray skin and almost no eyebrows--and plays a character who's even freakier. Having already essayed the headliner role of a rebel without a cause this summer (April's uninspired Lockout), here he takes on the equally important role of badass villain without a cause. He's prissy and dithering and you seriously doubt he could hold his own in a fight with Tom Hardy, but he almost reaches Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men) dimensions in his brutality, dishing out vicious beatings and shooting people left and right. He also overacts to the hilt, but it's actually welcome in this landscape of good ole boys who talk all slow and down holme and whatnot. Yes, as he proved in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and, to a lesser extent, The King's Speech (2010), Pearce is good at playing the bad guy.
As far as acting goes, it's also worth nothing that Jessica Chastain is solid (Better than this material deserves, in fact) and Dane DeHaan easily elicits sympathy as the friendly but crippled Cricket.
A good portion of the filming is really gripping (with dread and adrenaline in almost equal measures, but usually the former outweighing the latter), there are a few good laughs, and action junkies will love the last 30 minutes.
What Doesn't Work?
The movie feels long-longer than its 115 minutes-a good bit of the lines are difficult to understand because of the accents, and several of the well-known actors on hand here are sadly underutilized. Hardy is in danger of being typecast--he's already played the hulking man of few words in last year's Warrior, and that was a much better performance (people are also still geeking out about his classical villain stint as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises). Here he's sulking and glowering and grumbling his lines in a guttural bass that would make Christian "I'm Batman" Bale proud. In a small, cliched role, Mia Wasikowska shows flashes of real ability but ultimately isn't onscreen long enough to be very memorable. And any movie that dares to feature Gary Oldman (himself no stranger to playing gun-toting badasses after The Professional, Air Force One, The Book of Eli) and then have him in only two scenes--which last a total of about four minutes-- automatically loses points.
Lawless, like many movies of this type, struggles to stay truly engaging when there are multiple montages depicting passing time. It also drew at least two "there's no way he would survive that!" exclamations from me, and then it has to go and have a Coen Brothers' ending (a happy ending turned sad by way of a sobering narration or glimpses into the grim future). It's also, at times, overpoweringly gruesome (read the next section).
Content: Very, very rated R. Blood sprays, splatters and gushes, people groan and moan and squeal with pain (other people sob with pain), and then get riddled with bullets. Cuss words abound and there are two instances of frontal female nudity, but what you'll remember are the gory details (which includes the most gruesome parcel sent to someone in a movie since Kevin Spacey sent Brad Pitt a special memento at the end of Se7en). There's a disturbingly-intimate beating, a sickening act of vengeance, and a drawn-out strangulation. Also, if you've ever wanted to hear what it sounds like when a knife tears open someone's back, you've found the right film. Leave the kids, girlfriends, moms, wives, and squeamish friends at home.
Bottom Line (I Promise): Lawless is not perfect by any means, but if you're looking for something action-packed, but with a bit more heart and brains than The Expendables 2-or if you're a huge fan of LaBeouf or Hardy-this might be the movie for you. It's definitely entertaining. Just be prepared for the gore. With apologies to Paul Thomas Anderson, this is the movie that should have been called "There Will Be Blood".
Lawless (2012)
Directed by John Hillcoat
Written by Nick Cave; Based on the novel "The Wettest County in the World" by Matt Bondurant
Rated R
Length: 115 minutes
