Lawless (2012)

Director:

John Hillcoat

Writers:

Nick Cave (screenplay)
Matt Bondurant (novel)

Release Date:

29 August 2012 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

When the law became corrupt, outlaws became heroes.

Plot:

Set in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by a new deputy and other authorities who want a cut of their profits.

Plot Keywords:

Deputy | Virginia | Bootlegging | Preacher | Franklin County Virginia

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

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
Mark Ashworth	...	Hophead #1
Tom Proctor	...	Hophead #2
Bruce McKinnon	...	Jimmy Turner
Eric Mendenhall	...	Spoons Rivard
Toni Byrd	...	Ida Belle
Robert T. Smith	...	Young Jack
Jake Nash	...	Young Forrest
William J. Harrison	...	Young Howard
Joyce Baxter	...	Aunt Winnie
Jeff Braun	...	Doctor
Malinda Baker	...	Young Black Girl
Tom Turbiville	...	Goon #1
Chad Randall	...	Mugger #1
Terry Keasler	...	Mugger #2
Duncan Nicholson	...	Junior
Ron Clinton Smith	...	Bootlegger
Anna House	...	Old Mountain Woman
Ricky Muse	...	Bootlegger #2
Peter Krulewitch	...	Stogie Pete
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chance Bartels	...	Charlie Rake's Henchman (uncredited)
Darryl Booker	...	Benny Bootlegger (uncredited)
Charles Casey	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Randall Franks	...	Cornshuckers String Band Leader (uncredited)
David Fritsch	...	Dead Gangster (uncredited)
Ronnie Kantorik	...	Homeless Man on Street (uncredited)
Larry Mainland	...	Funeral Minister (uncredited)
Joel Rogers	...	Traveling Hobo (uncredited)
J.T. Seidler	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Steve Warren	...	Down-and-Out (uncredited)
Jacqueline Marie Zwick	...	Dunkard (uncredited)

Directed by
John Hillcoat

Writing credits
Nick Cave		(screenplay)
Matt Bondurant		(novel "The Wettest County in the World")

Produced by
John Allen	....	co-producer
Robert Ogden Barnum	....	executive producer
Michael Benaroya	....	producer
Jason Blum	....	executive producer
Matthew Budman	....	co-producer
Megan Ellison	....	producer
Cassian Elwes	....	executive producer
Lucy Fisher	....	producer
Scott Hanson	....	executive producer
James Lejsek	....	co-executive producer
Randy Manis	....	executive producer
Laura Rister	....	executive producer
Ben Sachs	....	executive producer
Ted Schipper	....	executive producer
Rachel Shane	....	executive producer
Douglas Wick	....	producer
Dany Wolf	....	executive producer
Clayton Young	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Nick Cave
Warren Ellis

Cinematography by
Benoît Delhomme		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Dylan Tichenor

Casting by
Francine Maisler

Production Design by
Chris Kennedy

Art Direction by
Gershon Ginsburg

Set Decoration by
Maria Nay

Costume Design by
Margot Wilson

Makeup Department
David LeRoy Anderson	....	special f/x makeup creation
David Beneke	....	dental prosthetics
Veronica Cox	....	makeup artist
Ken Diaz	....	makeup department head
Luis García	....	key makeup artist
Bill Johnson	....	fake bodies
Cathrine A. Marcotte	....	key hair stylist (as Catherine Marcotte)
Carol Rasheed	....	assistant makeup artist
Scott H. Reeder	....	key hair stylist (as Scott Reeder)
Sabine Roller	....	makeup artist
Toby Sells	....	makeup artist
Katrina Suhre	....	additional hair stylist
Kelvin R. Trahan	....	hair department head
Ariane Turner	....	makeup artist
Bryan Whisnant	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Robert Hackl	....	post-production supervisor
James Masi	....	post-production supervisor
Regina Robb	....	production supervisor
Dany Wolf	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Justin Ritson	....	first assistant director: second unit
Justin Ritson	....	second assistant director
Dany Wolf	....	second unit director

Art Department
Hank Atterbury	....	carpenter (as Henry 'Hank' Atterbury)
Kip Bartlett	....	on-set dresser
Rebecca Brown	....	buyer
Dana Corbett	....	set dresser
Sharon Davis	....	assistant art director
Sharon Davis	....	set designer
Jon De Pabon	....	paint foreman
Scott K. Deadwyler	....	carpenter
Jeremy Farlow	....	welding foreman
Faith Farrell	....	scenic foreman
Jared Fleury	....	props
Carol Francoso	....	scenic artist
Julie Hardin	....	set dresser
Don Holloway	....	lead greensman
Anne Hyvarinen	....	head paint foreman
Konrad Lewis	....	set dresser
E. Aaron Linker	....	art assistant
Ricardo Lozier	....	set dresser (as Rico Lozier)
Thomas Miner	....	carpenter
Ruth Mitchell	....	painter
Christina Myal	....	graphic designer
Sarah Myers	....	set dec pa
Javed Noorullah	....	gang boss
Joshua Noorullah	....	set dresser
Pat Oldknow	....	carpenter
Justin Pelissero	....	gangboss
Scott T. Pina	....	construction coordinator
Eugene Pope	....	general foreman
Phillip Proffitt	....	carpenter
Anna Ragghianti	....	set painter
Taraja Ramsess	....	set dresser
Sarah Regan	....	painter
Kelly Richardson	....	art department coordinator
JoAnna Robinson	....	set dresser
Mike Samuels	....	set dresser
Erik Sedwick	....	storyboard artist
Barbara S. Shelton	....	scenic artist
Blanche Sindelar	....	property master
Bob Smith	....	leadman
Shea Soutar	....	stand by painter
Leia Verner	....	set dec assistant
Nichole Wleklinski	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Teitur Arnason	....	adr recordist
Wade Barnett	....	adr recordist
Chris David	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matt Dawson	....	adr mixer
Brian Dunlop	....	foley editor
Christopher Eakins	....	supervising adr editor
Christopher Eakins	....	supervising dialogue editor
Christopher Eakins	....	supervising sound editor
Jesse Ehredt	....	sound recordist
David Esparza	....	supervising sound effects editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Robert Jackson	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Kramer	....	sound recordist
Tim Limer	....	sound recordist
Travis MacKay	....	adr mixer
Tor McAfee Kingdon	....	foley mixer (as Tor Kingdon)
Anthony M. McCovey	....	sound utility
Anthony Ortiz	....	boom operator
Lisa Pinero	....	sound mixer
A. Josh Reinhardt	....	sound mixer
Brad Sherman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Callie Thurman	....	assistant sound editor
Irene Vinader	....	foley assistant editor
Ben Whitver	....	adr mixer

Special Effects by
Scanlan Backus	....	special effects technician
David Fletcher	....	special effects coordinator
Ken Gorrell	....	special effects
Thomas Kittle	....	special effects foreman
Brendan McHale	....	special effects foreman
Matthew Scurry	....	special effects technician
Tim Walkey	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Tegan Arnold	....	additional visual effects
Jeffrey Edward Baksinski	....	digital effects supervisor
Joey Bonander	....	visual effects coordinator
Kristen Branan	....	visual effects producer: Zoic Studios
Andrew G. Cox	....	visual effects coordinator
Anthony D'Agostino	....	element photography
Feliciano di Giorgio	....	senior compositor: Zoic Studios
Dick Edwards	....	visual effects supervisor: Invisible Effects
Kevin Fanning	....	visual effects artist
Mark O. Forker	....	visual effects supervisor: DIVE
Debra George	....	rotoscope artist
Robert Hackl	....	visual effects producer
Eric Ladd	....	main titles designer
Ed Mendez	....	compositing supervisor: Dive
Roger Mocenigo	....	visual effects artist
Nathan Overstrom	....	digital compositor
Chris Patterson	....	visual effects editor
Tom Quinn	....	Visual Effects Producer: DIVE
Marcos Shih	....	matte painter: Zoic Studios
Mark Stetson	....	senior visual effects supervisor: Zoic Studios
Bill Taylor	....	visual effects supervisor
Mike Uguccioni	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Mark Ashworth	....	stunts
Brent Bernhard	....	stunt double: Shia LaBeouf
Dale Cannon	....	stunts
John T. Cypert	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Reece Fleetwood	....	stunt performer
Colin Follenweider	....	stunt double: Shia LaBeouf
Mickey Giacomazzi	....	stunt coordinator
Kurt Hockenberry	....	stunt double
Henry Kingi Jr.	....	stunts
Rob Mars	....	stunt double: Jason Clarke
Rob Mars	....	stunt driver: Jason Clarke
Tom Proctor	....	stunts
Gary Robert	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Justin Berrios	....	electrician
Manuel Billeter	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Manuel Billeter	....	director of photography: second unit
Dwight O. Campbell	....	second assistant camera: "c" camera
Jeremy Cannon	....	digital utility tech
Steve Cassidy	....	aerial director of photography
Peter Chrimes	....	rigging key grip
Stephen Crowley	....	rigging gaffer
Jeff W. Curtis	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
Keith Cutler	....	rigging electric
Julian J. Delacruz	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Benoît Delhomme	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Chad Deslatte	....	rigging grip
Dustin D Diamond	....	camera utility: second unit
Wes Eastin	....	electrician
Seth Eltz	....	electrician
Patrick D. Fields	....	grip
Richard Foreman Jr.	....	still photographer
Todd D. Gardner	....	rigging gaffer
Derek Grover	....	digital imaging technician: pre-production and camera test
Glenn Kaplan	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Matthew J. Klann	....	rigging electrician
Len Levine	....	gaffer
Matthew McGinn	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Christopher L. Miller	....	grip
Brian Minzlaff	....	set lighting technician
Greg Morse	....	video assist
Greg Morse	....	video playback operator
Chad Oliver	....	digital imaging technician
Glenn Ortman	....	electrician
David Peirce	....	company grip
Daniel Pernas	....	assistant camera: "c" camera
Christopher E. Pettus	....	electrician (as Christopher Earl Pettus)
Allen Christopher Robinson	....	grip
Allen Christopher Robinson	....	rigging electrician
Scott Ronnow	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Landon Ruddel	....	best boy rigging grip
Alexander Sablow	....	camera production assistant
Schenley V. Sargusingh	....	rigging electrician
Chad Schroeder	....	best boy
Randy Stewart	....	grip
Brent Studler	....	electrician
Jeff C. Sutton	....	additional electrician
David J. Thompson	....	steadicam operator
Edward Viola	....	digital imaging technician

Animation Department
Patrick Brady	....	layout artist
Josh Dagg	....	layout supervisor
Lloyd Hackl	....	layout artist
Anthony Irvin	....	layout artist

Casting Department
Elizabeth Chodar	....	casting assistant
Lori Eastside	....	casting associate
Robert Oppel	....	casting associate
C. Mason Taylor	....	casting assistant
Ann Wittenberg	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
English Benning	....	seamstress
Dallah Charissa Cesen	....	costume ager/dyer
Suzy Freeman	....	costume supervisor
Keith Hudson	....	costume ager/dyer
Esther Marquis	....	head textile artist
Melanie Mascioli	....	set costumer
April McCoy	....	ladies cutter/fitter
Elisa R. Richards	....	costume ager/dyer
Kate Sawyer	....	costumer
Heather Sease	....	costume textile artist: pre-production
Keith M. Wegner	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Peter Dudgeon	....	post-production assistant
Banner Gwin	....	assistant editor
Michael Hatzer	....	supervising digital colorist Technicolor
Chris Jensen	....	second colorist: Technicolor
Bruce Lomet	....	digital intermediate producer
Chris Patterson	....	first assistant editor
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor

Music Department
Christine Bergren	....	music legal and clearance
Rachel Fox	....	music coordinator
Joel C. High	....	music consultant
Tim LeFebvre	....	musician
John Wesley Ryles	....	playback singer
David Sardy	....	music producer
David Sardy	....	music supervisor
Jim Schultz	....	music editor
Jim Schultz	....	score mixer
Jim Schultz	....	score producer
Patrick Spain	....	assistant scoring engineer
Jordan Tappis	....	music supervisor
Ronald J. Webb	....	music editor
Hal Willner	....	music producer

Transportation Department
Connie Biles	....	driver
William W. Brown III	....	driver
Dennis G. Carter	....	transportation captain
Keith N. Collis	....	transportation coordinator
Tim Collis	....	driver
Ricky Cox	....	driver
Gary Duncan	....	picture car coordinator
David Frith	....	driver
Dan J. Latham II	....	driver
Yetta Johnson	....	driver
Lewis Jones Jr.	....	driver
Michael R. Purvis	....	driver
Dean Stephens	....	transportation captain
Bubba Thrift	....	driver
David Carlton White	....	driver

Other crew
Jason Abercrombie	....	set medic
Rachel Aberly	....	unit publicist
Adam Ballesteros	....	assistant to mr. benaroya
John D. Bert	....	key craft services
Zoe Bower	....	post facilities manager
Francie Brown	....	dialect coach
Michael Buster	....	dialect coach
Bryce Colquitt	....	accounting clerk
Luke Crawford	....	key set production assistant
Tana David	....	post facilities manager
Mike Davis	....	stock footage and photo coordinator
Biagio DeSimone	....	production assistant
Justin Dybowski	....	additional set production assistant
Hannah English	....	assistant to mr. wick
Omar Foster	....	production assistant
Philippe Gallichet	....	chef
Elan Garfias	....	additional adr voice
Taylor Gerrity	....	assistant post-production accountant
Drew Giles	....	stand-in
Brian Gonsalves	....	assistant production coordinator
Drew Grant	....	production assistant
Ginna Grant	....	production assistant
Indira Guha	....	production counsel
Jennifer Hackney	....	set production assistant: basecamp
Elizabeth Himelstein	....	dialect coach: Gary Oldman
Blake H. Hughes	....	assistant craft services
Drew Johnston	....	producers asssistant
Ronnie Kantorik	....	key stand-in
Gregory Kendrick	....	insert photography
Andrew Kim	....	production staff
Jay Knight	....	set medic
Matthew Kopacz	....	set medic
Robert Lane	....	production accountant
Yun Li	....	assistant to producer
Miles Logan	....	assistant craft service
Katarzyna 'Kait' Malec	....	production assistant
Katarzyna 'Kait' Malec	....	set production assistant
Alexander McCurley	....	additional set production assistant: day-player
Trevor McNure	....	additional set production assistant
Josh Mumford	....	location assistant
Tillman Norsworthy	....	adr loop group
Joe O'Shea	....	medic
Robert Oppel	....	stand-in
Daniel Rbibo	....	insurance services
Johnnie Ruth Richey	....	second assistant accountant
Drew Ritson	....	production assistant
Rebecca Robertson	....	script supervisor
Brett Rowe	....	director assistant
Tina Marie Sauls	....	office production assistant (as Tina Sauls)
Dee Schuka	....	post production accountant
J.T. Seidler	....	stand-in/double
Jimmy Shaw	....	director assistant
Dan Short	....	production assistant
Adrianne Skrzypek	....	set production assistant
Kerri Smeltzer	....	production coordinator
Stephen Stumberg	....	production assistant
C. Mason Taylor	....	production assistant
Kai Thorup	....	key assistant location manager
Kai Thorup	....	location scout
Ricky Tollman	....	assistant to executive producer
Greg Tresan	....	animal wrangler
Tom Tresemer	....	set production assistant
Andrew L. Ullman	....	location manager
R. Dawn Vigil	....	production secretary
Jennifer Wang	....	location production assistant
Hunter Wentworth	....	production assistant
Beth Woodruff	....	stand-in

Thanks
Aaron Harvey	....	special thanks
Andrew Harvey	....	special thanks
Terrence Malick	....	thanks
Roeg Sutherland	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Benaroya Pictures (presents)
• FilmNation Entertainment (presents)
• Annapurna Pictures (in association with)
• Blum Hanson Allen Films (as BlumHansonAllen Films)
• Pie Films Inc.
• Red Wagon Entertainment
• Yucaipa Films (presents)

Distributors

• FilmNation Entertainment (2012) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Alliance Films (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Energía Entusiasta (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Forum Hungary (2012) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Koch Media (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• MVP Entertainment (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Film Distributors (2012) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Viva Films (2012) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Weinstein Company, The (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2012) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Dreamwest Pictures (2012) (Korea) (all media)
• Imagem Filmes (2012) (Brazil) (all media)
• Koch Media (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
• Mongkol Major (2012) (Thailand) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Pinema (2012) (Turkey) (all media)
• Vertice Cine (2012) (Spain) (all media)
• Zon Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)

Other Companies

• Codex Digital  digital recording equipment
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Exceptional Minds  titles
• Film Production Capital  tax credit brokering
• Hollywood Trucks  entertainment transportation
• Ignition Print  poster design (uncredited)
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Movie Movers  hair and makeup trailer
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Paskal Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Sony Classical  soundtrack
• Transportation Resources  transportation equipment
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting
• Wildfire Studios  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Datasat | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #47199) | UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Ireland:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA15+ | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Philippines:R-16 | Hong Kong:III | Germany:16 | Japan:R15+

Filming Locations:

Woodbury, Georgia USA

Company:

Benaroya Pictures

Trivia:

Ryan Gosling, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Shannon were originally slated to top line the project together with Shia LaBeouf.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Throughout the movie, Spanish moss is shown. The movie was shot in Georgia, which has Spanish moss. Franklin County, VA does not.

Quotes:

Jack Bondurant:You can make moonshine whiskey from just about anything. Turnips, pumpkins, blackberries, cornmeal, tree bark. Anything.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.129" (2012)

Soundtrack:

White Light/White Heat

A terrific (true?) story. 87.5+%

This movie is based on a book written by a relative of some of the main characters depicted in this movie...just looked up Wikipedia, and the author was Matt Bondurant, whose grandfather, Jack Bondurant, is called "the runt of the litter" of the Bondurant brothers featured in this tale of moonshiners in the age of Prohibition in America. That book was called "The wettest county in the world" and the title refers to how much illegal alcohol was produced in that area. The novel was adapted for cinema by Australian alternative rock icon Nick Cave.

The story concerns how the Bondurant's once cozy relationship with sympathetic rural police is changed by the arrival of a corrupt Chicago law enforcement officer, Charlie Rakes (played by Australian Guy Pearce), who wants a cut of the Bondurant's illegal liquor business. Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) is not one to cave in to these demands. Things get ugly, but there is some romance in this movie too.

Whilst being a terrific yarn, the quirky central performances won't garner any Oscar attention, I wouldn't think. Guy Pearce's dandy/fop take on Charlie Rakes is highly stylised and amusing before he just becomes a plain horrible character. Tom Hardy's take on Forrest Bondurant incorporates many big cat like purrs, which also amuse.

Set in America's South, you mostly hear Southern drawls, so if Cave's screenplay is any good, you will miss a chunk of it unless you can decipher the more unintelligible dialogue in this movie...which I couldn't, but I understood enough of it not to lose the plot. Early on in the film, the reality of life in the South is not elided...you will see signs of racial segregation...literally.

Even though this movie doesn't have a lot of violence in it, when it does occur, it is bloody and horrific...both in what you actually see happen and the horrific implied violence which you do not see...except for the aftermath. These moments can be very confronting...it's horror movie territory.

Since the movie is based on a book by a member of the Bondurant family, you have to wonder how much is fictionalised in order to paint the clan in a positive light. Watching the end of the movie, concerning a final confrontation with Charlie Rakes, you have to wonder if it really happened that way.

Whilst not a 'chick flick', there are some romantic moments. There's a little bit of comedy too...I'm not sure if Pearce's and Hardy's performances are deliberately amusing, but apart from that aspect, there are some other amusing moments in the movie. I also liked the singing you first hear when Jack enters a church to be close to a woman he fancies (Australian actress Mia Wasikowska. There is a big Australian contingent in this movie. I did see Noah Taylor in the credits but don't remember seeing him in the movie).

Apparently this movie has things in common with Cave's original screenplay for the Australian movie "The proposition". I haven't seen that movie but if you like either movie, it might pay to check out the other if you haven't seen it.

I could see this movie winning an Oscar for best picture or adapted screenplay.

A ripping yarn.