Lawless (2012)

Set in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits.

Director:

John Hillcoat

Writers:

Nick Cave (screenplay), Matt Bondurant (novel)

Stars:

Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Jack Bondurant
Tom Hardy	...	Forrest Bondurant
Jason Clarke	...	Howard Bondurant
Guy Pearce	...	Charlie Rakes
Jessica Chastain	...	Maggie Beauford
Mia Wasikowska	...	Bertha Minnix
Dane DeHaan	...	Cricket Pate
Chris McGarry	...	Danny
Tim Tolin	...	Mason Wardell
Gary Oldman	...	Floyd Banner
Lew Temple	...	Deputy Henry Abshire
Marcus Hester	...	Deputy Jeff Richards
Bill Camp	...	Sheriff Hodges
Alex Van	...	Tizwell Minnix
Noah Taylor	...	Gummy Walsh

Storyline

In 1931, in Franklin County, Virginia, Forrest Bondurant is a legend as immortal after surviving the war. Together with his brothers Howard and the coward Jack, the Bondurant family has a distillery and bootlegging business. When the corrupt District Attorney Mason Wardell arrives in Franklin with the unscrupulous Special Deputy Charles Rakes, the Bondurant family refuses to pay the required bribe to the authorities. Rakes pursues the brothers and unsuccessfully tries to find their distillery. Meanwhile Forrest hires the waitress Maggie, a woman with a hidden past in Chicago, and they fall in love with each other. Jack courts the preacher's daughter Bertha Minnix and deals a great load of alcoholic liquor with the powerful gangster Floyd Banner. Jack shows off in Franklin attracting the attention of Rakes that finds the location of their distillery. When he kills the crippled Cricket Pete, the locals join forces to face the corrupt authorities.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | throat slitting | shooting a police officer | shot in the throat | franklin county virginia | 

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Taglines:

When the law became corrupt, outlaws became heroes.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Promised Land

Filming Locations:

Woodbury, Georgia USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,001,566 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Gross:

$37,397,291 (USA) (21 November 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Yucaipa Films, Revolt Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf got into a physical altercation onset.

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Goofs

When Floyd Banner hits Gummy Walsh with a shovel, Gummy lands with his legs stretched out straight. But the wide camera angle his legs are bent.

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Quotes

Forrest Bondurant: I thought I walked.

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Connections

Referenced in Film 2016: Episode dated 12 November 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Burnin' Hell
Written by Bernard Besman and John Lee Hooker
Performed by The Bootleggers
Featuring Nick Cave

User Reviews

good but not memorable

Lawless was extremely well filmed, looked great and stayed true to year it was set in. The cast was strong and all delivered good performances, especially Tom Hardy, who once again showed how much of a versatile actor he is. Shia LaBeouf was also a stand out performer for me.

The plot is simple but easy to follow. There are some extremely gruesome scenes and some bits of good gun action. Apart from a few scenes, the film was pretty much just dialouge. There wasn't much going on really. It was a decent film but ultimately it is something that I won't remember in a few weeks. I can see why some have rated it so highly, I guess this just isn't the sort of thing I normally like. It was good but I wouldn't watch it again.

7/10.