Lawless (18)
HHH
Dir: John Hillcoat
With: Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman
Runtime: 115 minutes
MATT Bondurant's granddaddy and granduncles were bootleggers in prohibition-era America. Sounds like a great "reveal" for Who Do You Think You Are; instead it's the basis of a crime drama that promises much but delivers less than one hopes.
Based on Bondurant's novel, Lawless certainly looks the part of a Southern gothic tale, and its cast is a Wanted poster for contemporary acting talent. Tom Hardy, fresh from The Dark Knight Rises, Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, The Help), and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) are all faces that sell cinema tickets. As is Gary Oldman, once the edgy Tom Hardy of his day, and here playing a rival bootlegger to the Bondurants. The trouble with having all this star power is that the director wants everyone to have a piece of the attention pie, and they get it at the expense of the story.
The three Bondurant boys have come through a lot of scrapes in their hardscrabble life, so much so that they now believe themselves to be untouchable. One man who disagrees is lawman Charlie Rakes (Pearce). As he attempts to shut the Bondurants' business down you can rest assured that there will be blood.
Lawless embraces violence as though guts and gore equal gravitas. Yet, as with the star wattage, it is all a distraction from the lack of a strong story. Instead of being gripped by the fate of the Bondurants, watching Lawless is like dropping in on an acting class where lots of big-name modern actors have hit the dressing-up box and want to have some good old period-drama fun.
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