During the Prohibition Era of the 1920’s & 1930’s, things were really bad. Gangsters ran the streets in the cities (especially Chicago) and when they started to make their way out to the rural areas that export moonshine, that’s when it got really, really ugly. In Franklin County, Virginia, dubbed by one fictional reporter as the “Wettest County in the World” (for the kids that don’t know, wet in this sense is not like going into the pool, unless that pool is made of booze), the Bondurant brothers dominated the moonshine business. Eldest brother, Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy), was the ringleader of the operation; middle brother Howard (Jason Clarke), was the brawn and youngest brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) was the driver. Jack always wanted to run his own operation and make some real money but Forrest saw him as weak. That is not entirely true but when a test of strength would present itself, Jack would always submit to the opposition.
The Bondurants and the lawmen of Franklin County had an understanding, as long as they law got their share, they could operate. That all changed when Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) rolls into town to crack down on the bootleggers of the land. Hailing straight from Gangster Town, U.S.A (a.k.a. Chicago), Rakes made a beeline to the Bondurant boys to show them who’s in charge. Forrest does not yield to anyone, making him enemy #1 on Rakes’s list.
Another gem that rolled in from Chicago looking to start anew (and a job), is sassy vixen, Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). She blindsides Forrest into giving her a job at the family diner, which now puts her in danger from the ones that want to bring the Bondurants down.
When Forrest is viciously attacked one night by some out of town thugs that tried to hurt Maggie, Jack and Howard are left to keep the family business going. Will Jack be able to use this as an opportunity to break free from Forrest? Will Rakes be able to take down the Bondurants for once for all? Will Franklin County take back control from the mob that has invaded their area or will it fall into dangerous hands?
When a film that’s based on a true story/book adaptation comes out, it either can be really good or really bad. Lawless is one of those films that hovers in between good and bad, it’s just average. Based on the true story of the Bondurant family in the book “The Wettest County in the World”, written by Jack’s grandson Matt Bondurant, the book is told from 3 perspectives rather than just one (Shia LaBeouf’s) in the film. There’s nothing particularly outstanding in terms of groundbreaking filmmaking, as the pacing of the story is a tad on the slow end, but the acting performances as an ensemble are superb. Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pierce and Gary Oldman, all give knock out performances but Shia LaBeouf’s character, although supposed to be the weak brother, was too inept. The most under utilized character was Gary Oldman’s mobster Floyd Banner. Oldman is such a fantastic actor, it was a shame they didn’t have more back-story included in the final cut.
What would have been really cool, is to go into the history a little more about the bootlegging and what stems from today out of that era. I remember seeing recently a documentary series on the History Channel about Prohibition and how what we know as NASCAR started back then from the bootlegger’s supped up cars, racing them on the weekends. This film is heavy on the violence, not sure if they were trying to make it more Scorsese – esq, but it does show a lot of blood.
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The Bondurants and the lawmen of Franklin County had an understanding, as long as they law got their share, they could operate. That all changed when Special Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) rolls into town to crack down on the bootleggers of the land. Hailing straight from Gangster Town, U.S.A (a.k.a. Chicago), Rakes made a beeline to the Bondurant boys to show them who’s in charge. Forrest does not yield to anyone, making him enemy #1 on Rakes’s list.
Another gem that rolled in from Chicago looking to start anew (and a job), is sassy vixen, Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). She blindsides Forrest into giving her a job at the family diner, which now puts her in danger from the ones that want to bring the Bondurants down.
When Forrest is viciously attacked one night by some out of town thugs that tried to hurt Maggie, Jack and Howard are left to keep the family business going. Will Jack be able to use this as an opportunity to break free from Forrest? Will Rakes be able to take down the Bondurants for once for all? Will Franklin County take back control from the mob that has invaded their area or will it fall into dangerous hands?
When a film that’s based on a true story/book adaptation comes out, it either can be really good or really bad. Lawless is one of those films that hovers in between good and bad, it’s just average. Based on the true story of the Bondurant family in the book “The Wettest County in the World”, written by Jack’s grandson Matt Bondurant, the book is told from 3 perspectives rather than just one (Shia LaBeouf’s) in the film. There’s nothing particularly outstanding in terms of groundbreaking filmmaking, as the pacing of the story is a tad on the slow end, but the acting performances as an ensemble are superb. Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pierce and Gary Oldman, all give knock out performances but Shia LaBeouf’s character, although supposed to be the weak brother, was too inept. The most under utilized character was Gary Oldman’s mobster Floyd Banner. Oldman is such a fantastic actor, it was a shame they didn’t have more back-story included in the final cut.
What would have been really cool, is to go into the history a little more about the bootlegging and what stems from today out of that era. I remember seeing recently a documentary series on the History Channel about Prohibition and how what we know as NASCAR started back then from the bootlegger’s supped up cars, racing them on the weekends. This film is heavy on the violence, not sure if they were trying to make it more Scorsese – esq, but it does show a lot of blood.
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