Lawless is a visceral and brutal look at the lives of the Bondurant brothers who we meet in the Prohibition era selling moonshine. Yes, thats basically the whole plot. The brothers trying to get by their business, evading the law and getting their asses handed to them by a very creepy Guy Pierce.
That description might not warrant you to shell out dough to catch the film but here are some of the goodies I found in the film that might just tickle your fancy.
1. Tom Hardy - Tom Hardy as Forrest Bondurant. The guy is physically imposing inspite of playing the role of the brains of the operation. I can definitely say that all that physical training to become Batman's latest nemesis Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises" had some lasting effects on Hardy. The way he stands, the way he's dead set on achieving things and running things and his "never say die" attitude all encompass why his take as Forrest Bondurant was entertaining.
I love that Hardy rarely used a gun in this film. It might have been branded as a "gangster movie" but the lead character only relies on his wits, his physically imposing stature, a myth surrounding their family and a brass knuckle which he keeps handy.
2. Musical Scoring - the musical scoring for this film was superb. Taking the best of what country music can offer it provides a really good, almost eerily beautiful companion to what's happening in the screen. The best moments where a song plays and cinematography shifts from the rustic vibe of Franklin, Virginia to the mountains, woodlands and swamps was a good call. The movie I've seen that had this much cultural richness was I guess George Clooney's "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" which had more folk/ Louisiana/ Cajun music in it.
3. Shia LeBeouf - Shia's role as the youngest Bondurant was good. It's really so far from the Sam Witwicky role. This Shia was serious, cunning and impetous. Much like how kids/ teenagers are these days, he's hotheaded and reckless which often leads to more trouble.
If I may say, LeBeouf's Jack, is also a fanboy of sorts going crazy after seeing gangster Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman) do a hit on one of his enemies. I guess while's he's living in man's world, he really does show a few vulnerabilities and transforming into this teenage boy who doesn't even know what he wants to do with his life.
4. Guy Pearce - Guy Pearce plays Special Deputy Charlie Rakes, a federal agent tasked with hunting down moonshiners. Pearce's character is one ***ked up feller. He's crazy and loony and makes you just want to hit him if you ever see him down the street. The great thing about this is that he didn't even look like Pearce.
5. Humor - for such a violent film, there's a bit of humor found within the film. Even the parts where it's not supposed to be funny became funny when its taken in with a different context. One good scene I can recall was that part where Forest does his crazy dance, falls into the frozen lake and walks out alive. All while Shia narrates about how Forest survived and how he ultimately died.
There's a lot of things that you should look forward when you catch "Lawless" in Ayala Malls Cinemas starting October 24. Be warned though as you have to steel yourself from a couple of grisly scenes which you might discomforting, hey it aint a ganster movie without a few scenes with blood right.
Also it sucked that Gary Oldman only have a small part. That guy was effing brilliant. Remember this was the same guy who played an old Jim Gordon in TDKR together with Hardy and suddenly in this movie he looks like a dashing gangster with tommy gun and cigar to match.
Special thanks to Ayala Cinames for the special advance screening of Lawless.
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