Lawless: Even bootleggers abide by a code of honor

Australian director John Hillcoat is particularly adept at handling dark, violent source material. He explored themes of revenge and redemption in 2005’s The Proposition and 2009’s The Road. He’s at it again in Lawless, a period piece set in the segregated South during Prohibition. Based on the 2008 novel The Wettest County in the World, the story concerns the bootlegging Bondurant brothers and their run-ins with Special Agent Charlie Riggs (Guy Pearce), a city slicker set on “controlling” the bootlegging in rural Virginia.

As soon as Charlie arrives in town, he picks a fight with Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the weakest of the Bondurant brothers. Charlie beats him up good and sends some thugs to take out his brother Forrest (Tom Hardy). They nearly succeed, slitting Forrest’s throat.  But Forrest survives, adding to the legend that he’s somehow invincible. Meanwhile, Jack takes some initiative brings the brothers’ moonshine across county lines to sell it to Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), a gangster who shares a disdain for Charlie. The Bondurant brothers can’t avoid confrontations with Charlie, however, and the film’s climax comes as Charlie decides to shut down the bridge leading out of the county and Jack appears, determined to subvert his authority.

Masterfully filmed by cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, the film shows just what an auteur Hillcoat has become. Written by Goth rocker Nick Cave, the script not only features some sharp dialogue, but it also provides Hillcoat with some terrific characters. And the actors deliver. Hardy plays the emotionally guarded Forrest perfectly, and Pearce is excellent as the well-groomed bad guy. LaBeouf is a bit out of his league here, but playing a smart ass like Jack is still well within his range. And while actresses Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska both deliver fine performances, their characters aren’t nearly as well-rounded as the male ones (one of the script’s only flaws). The amount of violence in the movie can be off-putting, but in the context of the period in which the film is set, it’s probably not overly excessive and shouldn’t keep you from seeing this fine film.