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Hardy a strong presence in 'Lawless'
By Christy Lemire |
September 2, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
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IF you can accept the notion that Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke could be brothers during this century or any other, you might be able to immerse yourself in the artfully pulpy allure of "Lawless," based on the true story of the bootlegging Bondurants.
Director John Hillcoat's ultra-violent drama plays like a hot, sweaty, delusional dream and is similarly fitful. It can be visceral and operatic, beautiful and brutal but also slow and overlong. The look and the sound of it are the most effective parts, and the most intrinsically tied: Singer-songwriter Nick Cave, a longtime friend and collaborator of fellow Australian Hillcoat (on "The Proposition" and "The Road"), wrote the script and co-wrote the score, so there's a peculiar kind of dark flavor, humor and musicality to the cadence of the dialogue.
"Lawless" is based on "The Wettest County in the World," Matt Bondurant's fictional tale of his grandfather, Jack, and his brothers, moonshine masters who kept the Virginia hills liquored up during Prohibition. The eldest, Howard (Clarke), is a volatile and frequently inebriated veteran of WWI. The middle brother, Forrest (Hardy), is the quietly commanding leader of both the business and the family. And then there's Jack (LaBeouf), the youngest who's eager to prove himself. He's the most ambitious, which makes him the most dangerous.
The Bondurant boys find their tidy little operation threatened when a corrupt Chicago lawman named Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) swoops in to shut them down. He's nasty and Pearce relishes playing this type of precise villain.
Although there are obligatory love interests, the film is mainly about the men, and the primal ways in which they survive and seek revenge. Yet it also squanders the presence of Gary Oldman in just a few scenes as the big-city mobster who Jack aspires to be like one day. He is gone for large, inexplicable chunks of time, and he is sorely missed.
Still, there is Hardy, who is always hulking and intense and impossible to stop watching. Sure, his accent is a little thick and folksy but he seems to get the melody that exists within the script. While LaBeouf attempts to show he's a grown-up now and can do serious character work, Hardy shows up and dominates.
Director John Hillcoat's ultra-violent drama plays like a hot, sweaty, delusional dream and is similarly fitful. It can be visceral and operatic, beautiful and brutal but also slow and overlong. The look and the sound of it are the most effective parts, and the most intrinsically tied: Singer-songwriter Nick Cave, a longtime friend and collaborator of fellow Australian Hillcoat (on "The Proposition" and "The Road"), wrote the script and co-wrote the score, so there's a peculiar kind of dark flavor, humor and musicality to the cadence of the dialogue.
"Lawless" is based on "The Wettest County in the World," Matt Bondurant's fictional tale of his grandfather, Jack, and his brothers, moonshine masters who kept the Virginia hills liquored up during Prohibition. The eldest, Howard (Clarke), is a volatile and frequently inebriated veteran of WWI. The middle brother, Forrest (Hardy), is the quietly commanding leader of both the business and the family. And then there's Jack (LaBeouf), the youngest who's eager to prove himself. He's the most ambitious, which makes him the most dangerous.
The Bondurant boys find their tidy little operation threatened when a corrupt Chicago lawman named Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) swoops in to shut them down. He's nasty and Pearce relishes playing this type of precise villain.
Although there are obligatory love interests, the film is mainly about the men, and the primal ways in which they survive and seek revenge. Yet it also squanders the presence of Gary Oldman in just a few scenes as the big-city mobster who Jack aspires to be like one day. He is gone for large, inexplicable chunks of time, and he is sorely missed.
Still, there is Hardy, who is always hulking and intense and impossible to stop watching. Sure, his accent is a little thick and folksy but he seems to get the melody that exists within the script. While LaBeouf attempts to show he's a grown-up now and can do serious character work, Hardy shows up and dominates.
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