No Law and Order In This County

"Lawless"

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman

Written by: Nick Cave

Directed By: John Hillcoat

115 Min

Rated R

Anytime a film boasts that it is 'based on a true story,' you can almost guarantee that it has been stylized for dramatic reasons.  Rarely is the reality of a historical event anywhere near as action-packed as the way it is reflected on screen.  Given that, I don't know how much the events of "Lawless" reflect the reality of Franklin County Virginia circa 1931, but that isn't the point.  More accurately, I believe "Lawless" portrays a prevailing attitude about the circumstances in Franklin County Virginia circa 1931.  An attitude about crime during prohibition, an attitude about family loyalties and an attitude about Government controls on particular commodities.  It plays with strong themes and has a stellar cast delivering riveting performances, but with a spotty narrative structure and an ending that doesn't play true to the rest of the film, it lacks the conviction of some of its own characters.

I've often wondered why people don't use the Prohibition as an example to show the great fallacy of Government "controls."  When a commodity (like alcohol, marijuana, guns, etc) is readily available, anyone, within reason, can acquire it.  There are licenses in place to moderate the sales and providers of guns and alcohol, but for the most part, nobody need resort to criminal behavior to access them.  Most certainly, alcohol can be a danger when consumed irresponsibly.  It can also illicit violent behaviors in certain individuals (a small percentage of them, in my experience and estimation).  Yet it occurs to me that a great deal more violent crime was committed when the Government banned alcohol in 1920.  When you ban something that a lot of people want, they will resort to extreme behaviors to continue to acquire it.  This includes murder, brutal assault, blackmail, bribes, pay-offs and intimidation.

"Lawless" plays around with these ideas and is provided a great screenplay by Nick Cave, who is collaborating for the second time with director John Hillcoat.  They worked previously on "The Proposition" which is also a bleak rumination on the nature of violence forced by circumstances.  "Lawless" lacks that film's perfect pacing and intensity, but still bares the mark of a talented creative team.  There is a particular look one imagines when considering the 1930s and "Lawless" captures that perfectly.  The film takes place in Franklin County Virginia, dubbed 'the wettest county in the world' due to the fact that everyone there was brewing some form of alcohol or another.  Particularly skilled at Moonshine production are the Bondurant brothers; Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf, giving easily his best performance to date).  Forrest is the responsible one; strong and mostly silent.  He is built around a particular, but never too defined set of principles.  For instance, when Jack is brutally assaulted, Forrest calmly gives him a "man-up" sort of speech rather then foolishly seeking revenge. Howard is perhaps a bit unhinged, carrying around a grudge brewing just under the surface that he keeps at bay by constantly sampling their specialty product.  Jack, the youngest, desperately wants to impress his older brothers and carry his share of the weight, although he sorely fails to grasp what exactly that could entail.  Maybe he is too distracted by the comely Preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska).

Pretty soon, a tyrannical "Special Agent" comes nosing his way into the County.  This is Charlie Rakes (a sneering Guy Pearce), who quickly disrupts the flow of previous local arrangements by intimidating the local police, who were more than happy to buy from the Bondurants, but now torment them out of fear.  Gary Oldman plays local crime boss Floyd Banner, who is willing to oblige local competition as long as they don't step on toes.  Unfortunately, Oldman makes only a few brief appearances and his role is never made completely clear.  An always welcome Jessica Chastain plays Maggie, a new hire at the Bondurant restaurant, which serves solely as a cover for the real source of income.  Of course, once Charlie Rakes realizes who all the players are, he uses his sinister slickness to inspire a great deal of violence and retribution.  The best moments involve Tom Hardy's Forrest, who won't be muscled or pushed around by anyone; he'd prefer to just not be touched for that matter.  Indeed, Jack believes his eldest brother is tough to the point of being invincible.  As Jack, Shia LaBeouf abandons his usual goofy energy for a very subdued and vulnerable performance.  His arc is the most compelling in the film.

"Lawless" is an adaptation of "The Wettest County in the World," a novel by Jack Bondurant's grandson Matt.  Keep in mind a novel isn't exactly a diary of actual events, and I am suspicious that maybe much of what happens here is what Matt imagined as he was told stories of the Bondurant brothers of 1931.  Even so, it is compelling enough that these men existed, and intriguing to consider that even part of the way they are portrayed here might be based on reality.  Prohibition was a dark time for the entire Country, but if Franklin County really was the 'wettest' then I imagine things were pretty rough.  And that provides my biggest complaint of the feature; in such a viscerally violent film, boiling over with tension and bitterness, the ending plays it safe by churning out a standard Hollywood resolution.  Well, I suppose you could argue that it's bitter-sweet, but either way I didn't buy it.  I am not one of those who requires to be let off easy and I wonder if the studio execs ordered a re-worked ending.  Oh well.

"Lawless" is an entertaining two hours.  Its greatest strengths lie with the talented cast and crew and they have provided a mostly terrific period film about prohibition.  It could sit nicely alongside "The Untouchables" and "Road to Perdition" as one of cinemas' finer examples.  While there are some structural issues with the pacing, mostly due to some questionable character roles, everything else is good enough to distract from it.  But as I said, "Lawless" is more about attitude and in that regard, it superbly examines the violence that a misguided Government ban inspires.  I wonder how someone like Forrest would do as a gun runner or marijuana dealer.  Something tells me he'd be a great spokesperson advocating for the legalization of marijuana, although he wouldn't have to say much.  When the guy who has played a fierce MMA fighter, a hardcore moonshiner and Bane comes around, I'd do what I was told.