Lawless

If you’ve seen The Proposition, you may get a sense of déjà vu when watching Lawless. Same director? Check. Same scripter? Check. Same bursts of horrific violence? Check. Storyline concerning brothers from a family on the wrong side of the law? Check me up. So it’s a reunion between John Hillcoat and Nick Cave (his script being an adaptation of Matt Bondurant’s novel The Wettest County In The World), but as with most reunifications, this falls short on the quality front when compared to earlier successes. Set in 1931 the storyline concerns the Bondurant brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) and their illegal moonshine set up in Virginia. Their cosy-ish way of life though is interrupted by newly appointed Special Deputy Charley Rakes (Guy Pearce) and his demands that all racketeers in the area pay him a cut of their profits. The brothers refuse and things start to get messy. The trick that Hillcoat and Cave pulled off with The Proposition was that even though it was a slow burning drama, you left the cinema feeling like you had just watched a blistering non-stop thriller. Lightening doesn’t strike twice here I’m afraid though as Cave’s screenplay is full of clichés (the tart with a heart, the patsy etc.) and Hillcoat’s direction is no more than TV movie of the work. The film isn’t helped by its overuse of CGI either with some dodgy visuals just confirming to us its 2012, not the 1930’s. The acting is hit and miss as well. LaBeouf continues to prove he has zero charisma (how does he keep getting cast?) and Hardy doesn’t do much apart from mumble. However, Gary Oldman (despite a disappointingly limited screen time) is great as a rival gangster and Pearce is his usual impressive self, though not quite appearing to really believe in the part he is playing. Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska are pretty much anonymous as the scarcely believable girls who like the bad boys. The film does have its moments though, which includes a dark sense of humour and a neat running gag regarding Forrest’s invincibility. Also, to be fair to Hillcoat and Cave, they don’t profess this to be any more than what it is. There’s no character development, but this is just a snapshot of a family during a specific short time period. Whether you’re going to be interested in the story or not will be down to personal preference. It didn’t do much for me, but at least it’s better than Hillcoat’s last film, the vastly over-rated The Road.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Some may rate this higher, but for me this was more listless than lawless. Rating: 6/10.