Lawless

2012 "When the law became corrupt, outlaws became heroes."
7.2| 1h55m| R| en
Details

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

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Reviews

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Portia Hilton Blistering performances.
Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Mike Bloxham This could have been such a great film, but a combination of factors made it fall over.The prohibition era is well trodden in film but as far as I can recall I've never seen this aspect of it explored. Then you've got Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, arguably three of the best actors around. This should have added up to a winning combo, at the very least better than average. Instead we get an uneven mess of storytelling, some terrible dialogue, uneven pacing and way, way WAY too much Shia. Oh my gosh that guy sucks and it felt like he was in every scene. Tom Hardy has a tendency to a mumbling, grunting acting style, which a lot of people don't like, but personally I love the guy and found myself eagerly waiting for more of his scenes. Instead we get Shia, Shia, and more Shia. While Tom gets to lurk in t he background fobbed off with a tacked on love story. What were they thinking? There are some flashes of brilliance. The throat cutting scene. Guy Pearce's compelling presence. The fabulously haunting church music (in a scene once again ruined by Shia) which make this experience all the more frustrating. It could have been so good.
Michael Ledo During prohibition in Franklin Co. Virginia, three restaurant entrepreneur brothers operate an illegal moonshine business. Unfortunately everyone wants a piece of the pie, one that they are not eager to share. The brothers consist of Forrest (Tom Hardy), the brains and philosopher of the group. Howard (Jason Clarke) is a berserker, and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) is the shy driver. Jack is sweet on a Mennonite preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska) who likes his "bad boy" image.Guy Pearce plays Charlie Rakes, a one sided unlikable crooked deputy who makes us root for the moonshiners. Jessica Chastain provides a little style to the film as a city girl (former feather dancer) who wants to get away from Chicago and winds up working the restaurant for Forrest.As things pan out, young Jack must suddenly grow himself a set and take over the family enterprise against the odds. Good acting. High intensity.Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Malinda Baker), implied rape.
Anthony Iessi Lawless isn't flawless, but boy was it a good time. This is one bad-ass, gun-blazing, gangster movie. It's piled high with action. The story is not treated as fascinatingly, and perhaps character development needed some fine tuning. But you can't say anything bad about the acting. Tom Hardy.. again, he might be the actor of our time. Shia does an incredible job here. There's a real actor hiding behind all of that craziness. Then, there's Guy Pierce, who absolutely steals every scene as the bad guy. What a monster. Nothing beats well acted evil in a film, and he pulls it off Christoph Waltz-style. That haircut will haunt your nightmares. Over all, this is a highly underrated film. It may look on the surface to be as bland as a canceled HBO mini-series. Don't judge the book by it's cover. Give it a watch.
grantss Good, but not great, and more than a little disappointing. Had heaps of potential: the (true) story was incredibly interesting. However, that may be the problem - there is too much to cram into a 2-hour movie. A mini-series may the more ideal medium. Certain events get glossed over. Some development of some of the more interesting sub-plots is required. Plus, we are lead down a few blind-alleys, plot-wise. The pacing is uneven too - better direction and editing was required. This said, it is entertaining. The movie is suspenseful and exciting and has a degree of grittiness. With more time and a better director, it could have been a great crime-drama.Shia LaBeouf is miscast in the lead role - he just doesn't have the presence or maturity for the role. Still, he doesn't do too badly and manages to limit the damage. Remaining cast - Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska - are excellent. Tom Hardy is the pick of the bunch, as Forrest Bondurant.Most underutilised member of the cast must go to Gary Oldman. His character was a very interesting one, and deserved his own movie, but Oldman, for all his genius as an actor, only gets 5 minutes of screen time.Good soundtrack, the standout track being a hillbilly version of The Velvet Underground's "White Light, White Heat".