The last time director John Hillcoat and writer Nick Cave (proving himself just as capable of crafting great movies as he is at crafting great music) teamed up it gave audiences The Proposition – an absolutely fantastic movie that drew deserved praise from most people who discovered it. Which is why I was very keen to view their latest collaboration, Lawless. Yet I was also apprehensive. With it’s cast of “pretty young things” (including Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain) and the subject matter being prohibition-era crime I wasn’t completely sure just how the final film would end up. Well, let me tell you, it’s very good.
The Bondurant brothers are quite a force of nature. In fact, Forrest Bondurant (Hardy) has been through so much that he believes he may be invincible. Howard Bondurant (Jason Clarke) may not have quite the same invisible body armour but he doesn’t do too badly for himself either. Young Jack (LaBeouf) is the most vulnerable of the three, not that it stops him from trying to be the equal of his brothers. It’s the time of prohibition and the boys are doing quite nicely, thank you very much, with their sales of home-made “moonshine” in Virginia. But the wind of change is blowing. Instead of having a fun time and keeping the local law enforcement as a loyal customer, a very big fly in the ointment appears in the shape of Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), a man tasked with bringing the illegal alcohol trading to an end. Or to at least cause a lot of damage to those involved with the trade.
The cast also includes Jessica Chastain as a girl who has left Chicago to try and find a quieter life, Mia Wasikowska as a young preacher’s daughter who catches the eye of LaBeouf’s character and Gary Oldman as an infamous gangster named Floyd Banner. All do very well, with Wasikowska, in particular, impressing with a performance better than any other that I’ve seen from her. Movie fans have come to expect consummate greatness from Gary Oldman and they’re not disappointed here. It’s just a shame that his screentime amounts to maybe five minutes at the most. Dan Dehaan is also very good as a young man helping out the youngest of the Bondurant brothers.
As for the leads, fans of Shia LaBeouf will be pleased to see him giving a decent performance here. Those who dislike him (he has quite a few detractors) will at least be pleased by the moment when his character is on the receiving end of a vicious beating. Tom Hardy is very good, and he’s another actor that fans have already come to expect consistency and quality from, and he may already have been bulked up in preparation for the role of Bane but it still works with his character. Jason Clarke may not be the focus of the attention for much of the movie but he still does very well. Guy Pearce may get to go a bit over the top as the dastardly villain but it’s over the top in a way that retains a viciousness, an edge that keeps his character grounded as a very believable danger. Think of some slightly sane version of the Jeffrey Combs character in The Frighteners (side note – another film to see if you haven’t already, though it’s a very different from this one what with it being a horror comedy and all) and you have a rough idea of how it is played.
Nick Cave provides another very good script, efficient but with some nice, subtle characterisation and a number of nicely turned phrases, and Hillcoat once again takes the script and the actors and raises everything up a notch. The film moves from the bloody and the grimy to the light, bright and beautiful. It may not be on a par with The Proposition but it shows that his eye for each frame and scene is as good as ever.
I’d like to happily recommend Lawless to anyone who likes good movies but part of me is worried that it may be a bit too seemingly lightweight for those who enjoy serious cinema while those after a standard blockbuster will sit there, waiting for more traditional movie moments. Bearing those things in mind, I have decided to say “what the hell” . . . . . . . . . . . and happily recommend Lawless to anyone who likes good movies.
Lawless hits UK cinemas on 7th September.
DIRECTOR: JOHN HILLCOAT
WRITER: NICK CAVE (BASED ON THE NOVEL BY MATT BONDURANT)
STARS: TOM HARDY, SHIA LABEOUF, JASON CLARKE, GUY PEARCE, JESSICA CHASTAIN, MIA WASIKOWSKA, GARY OLDMAN, DAN DEHAAN
RUNTIME: 115 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
Film Rating: 
