So, Lawless is a drama gangster film based on a true story.
It’s set in a small town in the state of Virginia during the Prohibition era
(1930s) and stars Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy and Guy Pearce, amongst others. The
story revolves around three brothers; Forrest (Tom Hardy), Haward (Jason
Clarke), and Jack (Shia Labeouf) who are liquor bootleggers.
Not too far into the film a Special Deputy Charlie Rakes
(Guy Pearce) comes into town and pretty much tries to shake down all the local
bootleggers for a cut of their profits. Now Forrest is a bit of a bad ass, so
naturally he tells the Special Deputy where to go and tries to unite all the
local bootleggers against the law. This sets in motion a gripping, yet at time
slow, war between the two sides.
So the first thing to mention is that the acting in this
film was great. There wasn’t a single actor in this film that made you think “why
is he in this?”, and that says a lot coming from me because I’m not really a
big Shia Labeouf fan. However, unfortunately the characters were not written very
well so you didn’t really gain much of an emotional attachment to many of them.
Apart from Forrest, who had a quiet yet gallant charm about him, and the Special
Deputy who you learn to hate by the end.
This film also had that shock factor about it when it came
to violence. I don’t mean that it was graphically violent, but more that it
could make you tense up and could stun you a little just by using sounds or by implying
what was happening without actually showing you much, if anything. This to me is much better than
showing shocking images because it really brings out the quality in the acting and directing. Don’t
get me wrong though there are still some pretty graphic parts in this film, it’s
just not over loaded with it.
I also liked the fact that this film made the bootlegger out
to be the good guys, even though they were technically criminals, and the cops
were either the bad guys or just plain cowardice. Although I think there should
have been more said about the unity of the bootleggers in this little town as
this wasn’t explained all too well.
Even though Lawless is a drama it also has its moments that
are quite funny and there were several times when everyone in the cinema burst out laughing.
Overall I think that Lawless was a great film about three brothers and the corruption that surrounded the Prohibition era. The
acting was exceptionable and the story was gripping, be it a little slow at
times. Unfortunately there was little emotional attachment to characters with only
one or two exceptions. But if you’re the type of person who likes dramas or
enjoys a gangster films then I recommend that you watch this, because it pretty
much had me on the edge of my seat by the end of it..... Which is more than I
can say for Transformers.
-Ayden
-Ayden
