Lawless (7/10)

Lawless is an adaption of the book "The Wettest Country in the World" which tells the story of the infamous Bondurant brothers; bootleggers during the prohibition era.  The writer of the original novel, Matt Bondurant, (grandchild of Jack Bondurant, the youngest of the three), is also on the script-writing team alongside the musician Nick Cave.  All of this is helmed by director John Hillcoat, who directed The Road; one of my favorite films of 2009.  This is indeed a odd combination of leaders, but are they able to pull it off?

Plot:
Set during the prohibition era, the Bondurant brothers are known as the toughest and best bootleggers in Franklin County, Virginia.  Their authority is challenged when crooked special deputy Charles Rakes wants in on their profits.  As fellow bootleggers begin to fold to Rakes' demands and pressure begins to mount, Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) must prove he can lead his brother's operation while still trying to win the heart of the local pastor's daughter Bertha (Mia Wasikowska).

My Thoughts:
Check out this cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska.  ....Yeah, my jaw was on the floor too.  This is the best lineup of actors since Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy of last year.  But with such a huge cast, does each character get to flourish or do some characters get overwhelmed?

Unfortunately, it is the latter.  Some performances were fantastic and made you care about their character's outcome, such as Tom Hardy, (Forest Bondurant) Jessica Chastain, (Maggie) and especially Guy Pearce as the oh-so-hateable villain Charles Rakes.  However, the leads Shia LaBeouf, (Jack Bondurant) and Mia Wasikowska (Bertha) fall incredibly flat and predictable.  I found myself bored with the leads and focusing in on the side characters of the story.  And just a side-note, Gary Oldman's character gets a whole 2 minutes of screen time, which was, albeit sufficient for his role, very disappointing considering his immense acting talent.

The plot line and script are predictable, as are most things coming out of hollywood these days.  But in the case of Lawless, that did not make it any less fun.  It's a genuinely addicting, interesting story set in one of the most unique, adventurous time periods of American history.  Worth mentioning is that there are no plot holes that I could find, which always puts a movie script above the rest.

Also, a word of warning; This movie is horribly violent.  The camera spares the audience nothing, "treating" us to torture-style violence and raising the volume of those lovely knife-slitting, skin-burning, blood-curdling sounds and screams.  There is also unnecessary nudity that has no reason to be there besides shock-effect, which is disappointing.

In conclusion, Lawless is a film that set out to tell a really good story.  And it did.  It's fun, it's engaging, and it'll make you laugh, squeal, and cheer all at the right times.  However, it is definitely bogged down by a predictable lead plot that was unenthusiastically performed, and that darn nudity that has no place here.  But if you're willing to look over the shoulder of Shia and Mia's characters, you'll see a world blossoming with interesting characters and intriguing story lines that lead to a climatic finish that had me on the edge of my seat.

RATING: 7/10