As LAWLESS opens, we are greeted by stunning landscapes and narration by one Jack Bondurant, played by Shia LaBeouf. And while unintentional, this opening scene becomes a microcosm of the film that is about to unfold.
Based on Matt Bondurant's dramatized family history, THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD, about his grandfather and two great uncles, the film has a lot on its side going in. From director John Hillcoat's (THE ROAD) impeccable, high-toned visual style that fans of his come to expect, to Tom Hardy, fresh off his portrayal of Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, who can be seen, if not completely heard as the monosyllabic leader of a band of moonshinin' brothers. While, to the film's detriment I believe, his dialogue is limited to a series of nearly incomprehensible growls and grunts, he still demonstrates why he's one of the best onscreen presences working in Hollywood today.
And on that note, there is also Guy Pearce (THE HURT LOCKER, PROMETHEUS), who consistently puts out some of the most indelible, pungent supporting performances in film. Here, playing a slimy outsider and deputy sheriff with a perverse streak as long as the Appalachian Mountains, he again makes the most out of what he's given.
All that being said, the entire film is overcast with a sense of pointlessness. From LaBeouf's opening narration, a feeling of "So what?" sets in and the film never manages to work itself out of it. Set in the early 30s in rural Virginia, LAWLESS tells the story of the Bondurant boys, Jack (LaBeouf) and his two brothers Howard (Jason Clarke) and Forrest (Hardy). Dividing their time between operating their family's general store and running their lucrative "white lightnin'" operation, the boys are living the life and making good money while doing it. However, all good things must come to an end and their business is threatened by the arrival of Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Pearce), a sleaze from Chicago partial to designer gloves, bow ties, and a maniacal, high-pitched laugh. Rakes' polar opposite, infamous gangster Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman) is also an ever-present, machine gun toting specter hovering over all the proceedings, the idol and eventual business associate of young Jack and his budding empire.
If it seems like you've already seen this movie, it's because if you've ever seen any gangster/mob movie then you have. Though it looks incredible behind John Hillcoat's brilliant eye, LAWLESS seems to be a Frankenstein's monster, cut and paste recreation of all those films preceding it. From the ritualistic brutality to the unbreakable bond between brothers, it has all the gangster film tropes at their most action-packed, bloody, and romantic. It tries to introduce a new(ish) element, that being the folk-legendary immortality of the Brothers Bondurant, but that story line goes nowhere apart from one truly brutal (and AWESOME) "near-death" scene.
LAWLESS just treads on such traveled paths that it becomes boring. The shootouts and fight scenes, which become predictable, always end up being lackluster letdowns. And despite such a seemingly colorful backstory, none of the Bondurant boys ever emerges past genre stock characters. Not to mention that of the TWO women in the film (played by the talented actresses Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska), neither are given much of anything to do. Wasikowska's character at least has a visible arc as the innocent churchgoing Bertha who is charmed away from her quiet life of religion by Jack's courtin'. Jessica Chastain on the other hand is given little to do, other than pouring coffee and staring meaningfully at Tom Hardy (though, honestly, there could be worse jobs).
Oldman, Pearce, and Dane Dehaan (CHRONICLE) who plays Jack's crippled friend Cricket, all deliver excellent performances. Unfortunately, their brief moments are the only time in the film where it feels like more than people speechifying and standing around "profoundly," which is unfortunate for a story that, on its surface, seems incredibly interesting. But LAWLESS really is beautiful to look at. But as fun as it is to visually ingest, it just feels like business as usual (which you really don't want when the business is bootlegging). I just wish a movie about moonshiners, gangsters, and all around dirty outlaws didn't play it so safe.
