“Lawless”
By: Ryan Schmelz
If anyone didn’t think Shia LeBeouf wasn’t all grown up, “Lawless” will assure you he is. With powerful characters, gruesome violence, an up- and-down tempo, and a gritty emotional ending, “Lawless” is a gangster country boy’s best friend. “Lawless” is one of the best movies of the year, as well as the best crime drama since “The Departed”.
“Lawless” tells the story of the Bondurant brothers and their moon shining business in the mountains of Franklin County, Virginia during prohibition. The story is told through the narrative of Jack Bondurant, which is played by a powerful Lebeouf. Jack is the driver for the bootlegging business led by his hard-nosed brothers Forres, which is played brilliantly by Hardy and Howard Clark. The business is respected by all town-folk in Franklin County until the day crooked deputy Charlie Rakes, which is played by a menacing Pierce, comes into town. Rakes intentions are to use his power to shutdown the Bondurant family business at all cost, no matter how violent it may get.
Forrest is tough and all about business. He will take action and kick-ass whenever necessary. Howard is the same way but very humorous and loves to drink a little to much whisky and moonshine. Jason Clark almost steals the show as Howard, who adds the element to the film that saves it from the very dark setting this film is presented with. Jack is the soft one. Never killed a man and is afraid of violence.
The film starts off with a little bit of a slow pace consisting of multiple stare downs and drawn out character introductions. However, just before you think this film isn’t going to get anywhere, excitement, violence, and emotion take over.
One of the biggest perks to “Lawless” is the cinematography. Director John Hillcoat drops the audience in the beautiful mountains of Virginia and gives several scenes that where the score digs deep into the emotions of the characters.
To complement the strong core characters, the side characters are also solid. Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska play the brothers love interests and add a emotional side the film wouldn’t have had centering around just the men. And who could rule-out Gary Oldman who is pure excitement every time he is on the screen despite the fact he is not incorperated into the story enough.
Overall, “Lawless” is the crime drama we want to see more of. With the many brilliant up and coming and veteran performances, “Lawless” is one of the best films I have seen this year.