Movie Review: Lawless
Back when running moonshine in the hills of Virginia was a logical fair trade to counter-balance the social effects of alcohol prohibition, three brothers used their massive stills and the eldest sibling’s quiet brawn to distribute what in theory was booze, but was also potent enough to run a motor vehicle if need be. The Bondurant brothers – Jack, Howard, and Forrest – distill “White Lightning” in the dry days of 1931 Franklin County, VA with the local law on their side and the stoic, brutish Forrest (Tom Hardy) scaring any upstarts away. Soon enough, men with bigger guns from Chicago on all sides of the law encircle the Bondurants, setting in motion the true events co-opted and surely exaggerated by screenwriter Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat for the brutal ballad Lawless.
Formerly titled The Wettest County in the World, the poetics of which do more to convey how much liquor and blood will be spilled in the course of this mythic, unflinching gangster western. Having Australians write, direct, and act in the lead roles also gives the picture a harsher, less pandering nature than an American take due to that country’s tradition of ultra-violent macho genre films that make even our action fare pale in comparison. Known best for his gothic and witty music career, Nick Cave is not interested in writing comforting stories, he peppers Lawless with medieval brutalities, shocking reveals, and the worry that no character shall be spared simply because of marquee recognition.
That marquee consists of a uniformly exceptional cast including Jessica Chastain, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, and an underused Gary Oldman providing stable support to two of the best acting roles I have seen this year; Tom Hardy steps out of the winsome menace of his turn as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises into another mumbly character quick to violence but infinitely more sympathetic as the comically resilient Forrest Bondurant while Guy Pearce brings sinister relish to his villainous lawman Charlie Rakes (shaved eyebrows and a dandy’s wardrobe make him an alien presence amongst the hillbillies). Rakes’s progress in catching his prey is swift and definitive – as when he lays down a savage beating to a main character which goes on just long enough to become distressing and potentially alienating to a commercial audience.
Tom Hardy in “Lawless.” Photo by Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP – © 2012 – The Weinstein Company.
If you can handle the pulpy, intimate violence, there is much fun to be had in the Bonnie & Clyde tradition – rooting for the outlaws, rolling in dough, romance with porcelain-skinned beauties, and other such macho wish-fulfillments. LaBeouf’s Jack is the surrogate character to engage us in a bumpkin’s evolution from pipsqueak with gangster daydreams (set in motion when he witnesses Oldman’s crime boss put his Thompson sub-machine gun to use in the film’s punchy opening) to a flashy, tough-kid bootlegger. He does all the talking while Forrest humorously grunts disapprovals and lays down retribution when his kid brother is harmed. Their other brother Howard (Jason Clarke) is mostly a non-presence; probably only there for historical accuracy and to help in a plot pinch.
Hillcoat’s filmmaking is just as somberly beautiful as in films past (The Propostion, The Road), highlighting the ancient beauty of the tree’s overgrowth, silent snow falling on a vicious act, and rising cameras giving the movie sweep and lyricism without getting muddled in epic tendencies; in fact, the film shies so much from grandeur it often feels rushed and inconclusive especially relating to Gary Oldman’s mob middleman and his inconsequential role in the climactic battle between Rake and the well-battered Bondurants.
If Lawless is wayward at points (particularly Jack’s courting of a Mennonite girl seemingly placed just for a nice tone shift), the lush, visceral filmmaking and two well-crafted, memorable characters keep the film on its toes and makes for a fine opening to the more thoughtful movie-going season.
Gregory Fichter
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