Reviews & Ratings for
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139 out of 174 people found the following review useful:
Much better than most Hollywood fare, 11 October 2012

Author: WildBullWriter from United States

Reading the other reviews, I'm amused by the number of reviewers who don't have a clue about how southern rural hill people behave (and esp. behaved back in the 1920s). They accuse Hardy, and to some extent LaBeouf, of bad acting because their characters are so laconic (that means they don't run off at the mouth a lot) and inward and don't wear every emotion on their sleeves. Then they mightily praise Oldman and Pearce for great acting when they were, in fact, just playing northern urban gangsters who like to behave over the top---the very thing that disgusts southern sensibilities.

The folks making those review comments have probably spent too much time watching movies based on comic books and not enough time with dramatic characters representing actual human beings. So don't pay attention to their noise.

Instead, watch the flick. It's good. I enjoyed it.

35 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
Prohibition time: the most interesting battles are not just in the cities..., 13 October 2012

Author: Joe from United Kingdom

Hold it everyone! Don't be put off because this has Shia Le Beouf in it. Yes, some of you loath him for the Transformers movies, Indy 4 and plenty of other stuff. However, in this one he manages to find a good vehicle to change his tact.

We are in prohibition time, in the countryside in Virginia. The men are tough and they enforce their own law protecting their moonshine businesses. However they aren't the cringing redneck cliché of many other films; this isn't Deliverance. This is a dark movie where it seems those outwith of the religious community live and survive by force. In comes law enforcers from outside led by a sadistic sergeant, and we have an explosive mix.

Again, don't get the wrong impression. This film isn't about gung-ho good v evil. This is a lot more. Based on a true story (albeit likely taking big liberties with the truth), this is about the relationship of three brothers: two are ruthless whilst the third (Le Beouf) is weak. They look out for each other and that's the real nub.

Action comes generally in short sharp moments, but thankfully doesn't detract from the rest of the movie. Surprisingly some great acting and great camera work.

Personally, I enjoyed this very much. Ending was the only bit I was disappointed with but rest was very good. Give it a try, you may be surprised with what you find.

47 out of 76 people found the following review useful:
Something's went wrong, 11 September 2012

Author: rebecca-ry from North Lanarkshire, Scotland

'Lawless' is definitely a great film but there's something missing.

The acting is really strong; Tom Hardy's performance is probably his best so far. His voice is so different to his normal voice which really highlights how he has worked hard on his performance. I was really surprised by Shia LaBeouf's performance, he's never really impressed me but he gave a great performance here. He really proved that he could do some proper acting in the future and hopefully move away from the 'Transformers' series. Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain both perform well but their roles are wasted here. They have no real purpose in the film and are merely there as love interests. It wouldn't have been such an issue if they had gotten any actress for these roles but they instead chose two of the best rising stars with huge amounts of talent. Guy Pierce is outstanding here but his role becomes almost comical towards the end. He gives a great performance though and is quite disturbing. Gary Oldman gives a really good performance but has only 5 minutes screen time! It seems like such a waste, it would have been interesting to see his character included in the plot a lot more.

Overall this film was fantastic but there was a few things that director John Hillcoat could have improved that would have made this film truly brilliant, such as giving more characters some crucial screen time. The violence was not really an issue; I don't think it diverted the film away from anything which is good. It contained the right amount of violence for the film and shouldn't put anyone off from watching this.

33 out of 55 people found the following review useful:
A terrific (true?) story. 87.5+%, 24 October 2012

Author: dfle3 from Australia

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.

84 out of 159 people found the following review useful:
Less Than Lawless, 1 September 2012

Author: M. J Arocena from New Zealand

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Wanting to be so many things, sometimes, leaves you with very little. "Lawless" is a blatant example of that. Everything feels so unauthentic no matter how much effort has been put into accomplishing the opposite. The script is rambling and sketchy as well as starchy and, at times, downright annoying. Tom Hardy is one of my favorites of late, but here, he seems to be impersonating someone. It felt like a self-conscious parody. And Shia LaBeouf? What's with this man? Why is he playing leads in films? He, I'm sure, must have acting coaches and he is, clearly, following instructions, but what about the truth? He acts up a storm but there is not a moment of truth, not one. Look at the moment when he's told his friend Cricket has been killed. I felt embarrassed for him. Jessica Chastain's character suffers a radical change in the middle of the story and I kept wondering, how? when? and more importantly, why? Gary Oldman is always a pleasure to watch and Mia Wasikowska is lovely and does the most with the little she was given. The lack of chemistry between her and LaBeouf is unavoidable. He is acting all the time. The only highlight, really, is Guy Pearce. His performance is fearless and enormously entertaining.

24 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
Tom Hardy solidifies himself as the baddest badass of our time, 7 October 2012

Author: UberGoober1411 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I'll be blunt, I came into this film with low expectations. Shia LeBouf was never my favorite actor, apart from when he played Stanley Yelnats in Holes (even if he was badly mis-cast). I was getting ready to hear him yell things towards something past the audience and watch him force himself to cry, which is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. Apart from my low expectations, I kept an open mind and, let me say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The basic premise of Lawless tells a story about a family of country bootleggers in Franklin, a small village somewhere hear Chicago. As prohibition came to fruition, the law started buckling down. Enter Guy Pearce, the Special-Super Deputy in charge of seeing over the shutting down of all stills and confiscation of all moonshine out of Franklin. What follows is an account of the Bounderant family taking a stand for their own product and going against the law.

The acting in this movie is quite good, with the performance of Gary Oldman being short but meaningful. Guy Pearce makes a really good bad guy, almost Jude Law-esque from Road to Perdition. Shia holds his own and the supporting cast isn't bad, but Tom Hardy steals the show as the "invincible" Forrest Bounderant. As the title suggests, Forrest is a badass in this film. I can't go into details for fear of disclosing spoilers, but just know that Hardy once again makes us fall in movie-love with his character.

The story is quite good, giving the audience a different look to the bootlegging scene. The HBO show Boardwalk Empire provides an inside look at upper-class bootlegging while Lawless takes us into where the alcohol originates: in the country. There are twists and turns in the plot and the ending wraps everything up nicely.

All-in-all I'd recommend this movie. It's a solid all-around film, and although it seems to drag out sometimes there's plenty of action to boot.

+3 for Tom Hardy

+3 for story-telling

+1 for supporting cast

10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Violent but great acting, 19 November 2012

Author: phd_travel from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The combination of "The Untouchables" meets "Tombstone" meets "Winter's Bone" results in a violent involving Prohibition Era Western style thriller. A crooked law enforcement agent (Guy Pearce) tries to muscle in on the bootlegging activities in a Virginia hill town but some residents are not willing to let him take over. The war the follows is both thrilling and believable. It's also very scary because the movie makes you care about the characters - something that not many movies like this can achieve.

First a warning - the violence is memorable and shocking. So it's not for younger audiences. It may be a bit excessive for some adults too.

The acting and casting is perfect. Who knew an Englishman Tom Hardy could play a West Viriginian in such a convincing way. He even has a hillbilly figure to boot. Shia is just right as the headstrong and naive and his accent isn't too bad either. The chameleon like Jessica Chastain can act beautiful and her strength is just moving. It was a bit unnecessary for her to display nudity for the role though. Mia is quite good and has an Amish kind of look so it's quite perfect. Guy Pearce sans eyebrows shows his versatility as a menacing villain.

Overall this is a well acted and slightly over violent action drama with a good story.

11 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
This is a really fine movie, 19 November 2012

Author: JRlock from Montreal, Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is a really fine movie; there is a subtle difference between a work of which you would say 'the movie was fine' and the deliberate syntax I chose: 'fine movie '. If you can appreciate the nuance, you can appreciate the performances delivered by the superb cast. Indeed the producers and or directors as well as those responsible for casting the likes of Tom Hardy, Guy Pierce, Gary Oldman, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikoska must be commended for their choice. The filmographies of Pierce, Hardy, Oldman, LaBeouf and Wasikoska made this a film I would not have missed, one I awaited with as much anticipation as the next Bond flick, but not for the same reasons. These five consummate professionals were impeccable in depicting characters of Matt Bondurant's novel.

Add outstanding co-lead of Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain (movie The Help) and Dane DeHaan, not to mention very good supporting performances by Noah Taylor and others, and this brilliant ensemble could have only failed to bring us quality work if the direction had not been up to par; director John Hillcoat, whose movies The Road and The Proposition I also highly recommend, did as well as he has in his previous movies. He knows how to play the audience by holding back just enough to keep you wanting more and to give you time to feel the emotions the actors put into their respective characters. Each character has strong deeply rooted personas; it was a thrill to see some of my favourite actors deliver that on screen. Hardy has that modern quiet intense John Wayne charisma about him, Pierce plays the sadistic law officer inebriated by his authority, LaBeouf the gentle soul who overcomes the weakness his brothers tried to help reform; LaBeouf has the most screen time as he goes through a greater maturing transition called by his character. One part of LaBeouf's transition was falling in love with the natural beauty that is Mia Wasikoska (terrific lead role in the movie Jane Eyre), and he does that very convincingly. Mind you, she looks sweet and her character is most endearing; I dreamt of seeing her face on the pillow next to mine the next morning.

As the storyline implies, this is a period piece, one with the sort of action you should expect for its backdrop. I liked that the director chose not to depict any of his characters in the usual hillbilly clichés. Unless you don't like or care for period pieces, and even then, I recommend this movie; you need to see good acting performances by this ensemble of pros.

23 out of 42 people found the following review useful:
Everything seemed to good to be true. And it was, but only a little bit., 12 September 2012

Author: ThePadraigMoista from Ireland

Lawless has a great cast - Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce. - And a great story about three brother's growing up in Depression- era Virginia and based on a true story. The three brother's are bootleggers, but when a special deputy and other police figures want a cut of their action, their whole world turns upside down.

Everything seemed too good to be true. The cast, the story, everything. And it was, but only a little bit. The film was great, very enjoyable to watch, great acting from everyone involved. But the film, I felt, lacked something. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, as in they felt too two-dimensional. I didn't really feel how they felt at certain points and it should have showed the brotherhood more instead of opting for blood and violence. I think the film needed to be more humorous, because it needed something to ease the tension between those bloody scenes and I think that was it.

Shia LaBeouf was very good and Tom Hardy was even better. Even the smaller roles like Gary Oldman's character were acted well. I think it spent too much time on the whole romance aspect of it and it should have laid off of that a bit more. But the acting was great from everyone and it was an enjoyable time at the cinema. It is a good film, but didn't live up to the expectations I had.

A solid 7/10.

12 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
A Nutshell Review: Lawless, 18 November 2012

Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Lawless is a tale set against the 20s Prohibition era in the United States, telling the historical tale about the three Bondurant Brothers running their moonshine business, and seemingly, against all odds, came through a period of corruption, lawlessness, and just about having to watch over their shoulders almost all of the time while they eke out a living. Based on the book The Wettest County in the World written by one of their descendants Matt Bondurant, the film boasts a stellar A-list cast but didn't seem to lift the film under the direction of Australian director John Hillcoat.

Instead I was more enamored by the many of the era's motor vehicles instead, which were featured in some detail, and making their appearances as a tool for transporting the brothers' illegal liquor, or to be used as a babe magnet on dates. And with most gangster films, shoot em ups are part and parcel, which Hillcoat shot with aplomb, especially when riddling the sheet metal with holes and shattering many of the cars' windows. Violence is part and parcel expected during the time amongst those who live their lives breaking the law, and Lawless does have its fair share of unflinching, violent set pieces that range from getting one's throat slit from ear to ear, to bloody castrations. It's survival of the fittest and the ruthless, especially when needing to exert influence and convince the naysayers.

Which, instead of something being done by the bad guys, turn out to be something adopted by the law instead. Special agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) turns up seemingly being tasked to sweep Franklin County, Virginia, from its vice like grip on moonshining, being the infamous moonshine capital of the country, only to find that he's in it for some kickbacks, which if not agreed upon by the bootleggers, this will spell trouble. So for the Bondurant brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf), this meant being under Charlie's radar and being systematically dealt with to varying degrees of impact, sometimes Charlie having to rely on a proxy to do his dirty work.

We all know how tough Tom Hardy can be, but this role somewhat projected a more muted involvement from the strongman, being the leader of the brothers' operations, but having to contend with a romantic subplot with Chicago fleeing dancer turned waitress Maggie (Jessica Chastain) instead. Jason Clarke as second brother seemed to be the extra amongst the trio, while Gary Oldman made a cameo in a gangster role, appearing in a handful of scenes just to up the star ensemble. Guy Pearce on the other hand, really made his Charlie Rakes role his own, the cop who uses any extreme methods to get the job done, although very little is said of the sociopathic character outside of his job scope.

It's been some time since Shia LaBeouf made an appearance on the big screen (since the last Transfomers movie last year), since this one time rising star seemed to have had his wings clipped for slamming one of his earlier films. It's good to see him back not in a goofball role, but one that mirrored Michael Corleone's in The Godfather, having the baby of the family inevitably roped in to carry the family business with new perspectives and dare, and growing into the role that calls for pulling the trigger when required. In some ways Lawless also seemed to love centering around this character, charting his meteoric rise in their moonshine business, his courtship of a preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska) and his partnership with family friend Cricket (Dane DeHaan), who's their distillation expert.

The narrative develops at a meditative pace, slowing life down and then putting focus on a few pertinent issues that happened in recorded accounts. You will begin to realize just why these three brothers were once thought to be invincible, given the ordeal they have to go through, in order to operate something for so long, under the noses and the long arm of the law. The film explodes only toward the end when all hell broke loose, and in the meantime to endure the film, you can feast your eyes on the beautiful technical aspects that make up costumes, production sets, and yes, the vehicles.

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