Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce
Overall Rating: 76.7
"Lawless" is the story of 3 moonshiner brothers in Kentucky during Prohibition. Following the story of "The Wettest County in the World", the brothers run a simple outfit in a county with an understanding with the local law to look the other way. When a new special deputy (Pearce) comes to town to get a cut of the action, most of the moonshiners play ball, except for the Bondurant brothers.
Led by eldest brother, Forrest Bondurant (Hardy), the boys use the tactic of fear to ensure their safety. As the runt of the pack, Jack (LaBeouf) continues to try to push himself to live up to the legend of his older brothers. This chemistry pushes the film through the slow beginnings and ultimately to the climax, which actually ends up satisfying.
The 3 brothers are all played very well, but it's Hardy who comes off the screen as the impossible-to-kill leader. His brawn and deep Kentucky accent make you feel at home in the 1930's. Gary Oldman, who plays outlaw Floyd Banner also steals every scene he's in.
With classic 30's Fords aplenty, the set design is quite realistic. Each character's progression in clothing also is well crafted. As the brothers increase in wealth, you see their clothes go from backwoods-ratty, to dapper. Surprisingly, the least realistic aspect of the film comes from arguably the best actress in Jessica Chastain. Her role as a Chicago dancer, turned Kentucky barkeeper just seemed out of place.
The one downfall of the film comes in the slow build. At a 2 hour run time, it takes a solid 45 minutes until I felt involved. The final hour all comes quickly and at a relentless pace, but building the characters and setting the stage in the backwoods just dragged on a bit too long.
All in all, "Lawless" does a decent job in putting out an entertaining film. If you want to compare it to TV, think "Justified" meets "Boardwalk Empire".
Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 7
Dialogue: 7
Acting: 8
Direction: 8
Audio/Visual: 7
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