Bang bang - and now you're dead.
Or not, if you happen to be one of the (in)famous Bondurant brothers, Jack, Howard or Forrest (in his case your chances of survival are probably somewhere around 99%). They are just some country folks, earning their livings as moonshiners in the hard times of prohibiton. What do we know about them? They were real, they have a movie telling the story of their lives and... Well, Tom Hard is a hell of an actor.
OK, guilty, that may not be connected to the Bondurant bros themselves, but I promise you, this will be the only thought you'll have after the movie. Because even though Lawless is an extraordinary example of how to tell a story from behind the camera, with no such thing as special, gimmicky effects or overtalking, what stands out the most is this pretty boy becoming one of the biggest stars on the Hollywood's sky.
And not the one shining most intensively, twinkling as crazy - one that wins hearts with almost no words, some uhmms and a great deal of talent.
Back to this gangsterish story, brought to us by John Hillcoat and Nick Cave (duet you might remember from The Proposition 2005, where Guy Pearce was also present) - it is a good one. Built carefully like a house of cards, each and every detail has it's role to play, and it plays it well. The landscapes, old Fords and drinking banned alcohol from jars create the climate required to fully dive into the surprisingly not such a sad story of the few, who stood up against the putridity and greed, even when it's represented by the law forces. That representant is no one else, but Guy Pearce with a wide parting on his head and the i-smell-the-occasion-to-use-my powers-and-become-rich-over-someone-else's-hard-work attitude. It must have been tough, balancing on the thin line, risking becoming a caricature of Charlie Rakes charakter he's playing, but he never lost it. He's the perfect villain, made of just enough evil, perversion and an extra amout of craziness of the darkest, disturbing kind .
Who else to mention? Well, it wouldn't be nice to skip Gary Oldman's role, Floyd Banner, even if he visited the screen for, I dont't know, 4 minutes? And even that time was parted into smaller episodes. Of course, he was great, we love him, but, to be honest, Lawless would be just the same with or without Mr. Banner. No offence, though, I do respect Oldman in every charakter he creates. Even when his appearance is so short, you could miss it by going to the bathroom or blinking really slowly - so don't be indignant when someone'll ask you Was there really Gary Oldman in this movie?!.
Maggie Beauford is the one not to be missed. Her character was, well, easy to distroy by making it one-dimensional: just a gorgeous woman from the big city, falling for the tough guy, who can both protect and dominate her - story told milion times. But Jessica Chastain made her Maggie strong, independent and proud, without loosing the sense of femininity. She not only does not ask for help - she helps anonymously, letting her man's legend grow and spread, while standing in the shadow and loving him patiently.
Shia LaBeouf's Jack Bondurant is also believable, with his youth and silliness and the need to love and the need to prove himself. He's eager, hotheaded and stubborn: everything a young men would be, trying to fit everyone's expectations: the right man for the girl he loves (Mia Wasikowski makes a sweet country girl Bertha), the grown-up man for his brother, the good friend for a crippled boy and the businessman he thinks, he should become.
As for the Jason Clarke's Howard - he makes good background, being the silent pillar of violence and strenth the family and it's bussiness needs.
About Tom Hardy's performance I've already written (using a creative star metaphore, how artistic), so I'm not gonna repeat myself. Let me just sum it up: He said few words, made few impressions, gave quite a lot of uhmms and yet played a role so greatly, it makes the movie. I'd say it's impressive.
It's boring, So slow I fell asleep, It's not what I expected: don't let the haters fool you. It is NOT a classic gangster movie, it is not a western either, but it's an amazing piece of cinematography. It's being told, not read to us; slowly at the beggining, as every story, with all the introduction to the land of Over-the-hills and Far-away, letting us really get to know characters and bond with them, before the whole plot even starts. But Lawless is not really about a brilliant plotline. It's about people, about the times they lived in and what effect it had on them, but it's also about the special ways of storytelling, that reminds me of bards. Lawless is like one of their songs, not only because the music is amazing, but also - and mostly - because we have time to make friends with characters and feel at home beneath them. It's a true story of things we should, must and need to do as brothers, as lovers and as humans. And it's sometimes funny, just as life sometimes is. And it has Tom Hardy in it.
If that hasn't convinced you, I don't know what can.
I'm so gangsta
And for the haters: same things were told about The King's Speech. And it won many Oscars, Golden Globes and hearts all over the world.
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