Lawless: Adequate Genre Film

In Prohibition era Jackson County, Virgina, the Bondurant brothers run the show. Bootleggers and moonshiners, the Bondurants are, at least according to the 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution, criminals. However, in a county where the fires of moonshine stills dot the mountainsides like Christmas lights and the sheriffs play their own part in chain of distribution, it's safe to say that the "law" ain't too much of a consideration in Jackson County.

Headed up by strong, silent type brother Forrest (Tom Hardy), the Bondurants are the primary figureheads in an amalgamated union of backwoods bootleggers. They've carved out their corner of existence, which is enough for the hotheaded drunk brother Howard (Jason Clarke), but not enough for overshadowed and uninvolved Jack (Shia LaBeouf).

Jack not only wants to get involved, but to expand the business. Together, he and his buddy Cricket (Dane DeHaan) have devised a way to connect the stills to the water pipes, perfectly hiding the illegal activities underground. Jack talks a big game, but his reputation for being the weak link in the chain hasn't escaped Forrest’s attention. Jack’s battle to prove himself is an uphill one.

Meanwhile, the law decides to stick its nose where it don’t belong. The nose, in this case, is attached to the immaculately manicured face of Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce). Rakes is a character of frightening incongruity, with fine pressed suits, slick hair and a baby face that belies an almost sociopathic temper. It's likely that rumors of homosexuality have followed Rakes around for years—in a late scene, he snaps someone's neck while raving about being called "a nance"—but he's not used to being told no. After all, he comes from Chicago, where he's been dealing with big city bootleggers and cold blooded gangsters like Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman).

When Rakes sleazes into the backwoods of Jackson County, he expects the hillbillies to roll over and accept his offer: pay tribute to crooked politician Mason Wardell and carry on or life will be "real difficult" otherwise. The rest of the Jackson County bootleggers all fall in line like ducks in a row, but unfortunately for Rakes, the Bondurants have no problem with “real difficult.”

Seeing as Lawless is the latest film from John Hillcoat, whose last two titles are the out-of-the-box genre titles The Road and The Proposition, the straightforward nature of this most recent title could either be seen as refreshing or disappointing.

Re-teaming with Benoit Delhomme, the same cinematographer who shot The Proposition, Hillcoat brings that same elegiac visual feel to the hills of Jackson County that he did to the Australian wilderness, but its visual flair is incongruous with the screenplay of collaborator Nick Cave, who tries his hand at crafting an epic, but derails his own efforts by some narrative choices that are a bit too safe and standard for an otherwise bloody backwoods conflict.

Some of these choices, such as the inclusion of two love interests in the forms of curious PK Bertha Minnix (Mia Wasikowska) and former speak easy dancer Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain) are no doubt meant to bring some type of three-dimensionality to their respective beaus, Jack and Forrest, but they make more sense emotionally than they do logically. In the case of Chastain, a playful “will they/won't they” results in an entertaining levity between her and Tom Hardy, who, as he is wont to do, completely disappears into his character. But when it comes to LaBeouf, his finest emotional moments are tied to the death of a dear friend. His relationship with the daughter of a religious zealot is more an afterthought than a focal point.

Aside from the top billed names, there are still plenty of fine performances in which to be engaged, especially from Jason Clarke and Dane DeHaan, who is beginning to resemble a young Leonardo DiCaprio in more than just how skillfully he uses his facial gestures as a performance tool. Still, Lawless feels like a missed opportunity all around, never venturing outside of its Jackson County borders in either geography or significance, relying on its "based on a true story" roots to remind audiences of a seemingly inherent connection. A well-crafted genre film it is, but a worthy inclusion on the year end Best Of lists it is not.