Lawless Review

Lawless is a film adaptation of “The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story” by Matt Bondurant. The story follows the Bondurant brothers during the 1930s as they make moonshine and run their wares around Virginia during the Prohibition Era. In the beginning, the brothers are focused on making the best ‘shine in the county, but soon they are contending with corrupt members of law enforcement while trying to provide industrial-scale volumes of moonshine to Chicago gangsters.

I have not read the book on which the movie is based. But, I bet you $5 the book is better than the movie.

There's a solid cast in Lawless

The film has a solid cast. The brothers Bondurant are played by the likes of Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke while Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, and Gary Oldman also have sizeable roles. These are all quality actors, and each of them does their jobs capably. Too bad there isn’t much of a story here.

Certainly, there is a plot to Lawless. A corrupt lawman from Chicago, Charlie Rakes, in a fantastically over-the-top performance from Guy Pearce, wants to muscle out all of the moonshiners in the county. And by ‘muscle out’ I mean make them pay dues or be killed. But, the three Bondurant brothers (who I assume are Matt Bondurant’s granduncles) won’t be pushed around so easily. They hold fast to their way of life, and drag the whole county to the brink of war with the law.

Sociopathic cop

What is missing from Lawless is character growth. In good stories, a character starts out in a lesser place – usually they don’t realize they are the hero type. During the events of the story, we see the characters develop into the hero they were meant to be. We, the audience, have the pleasure of watching the hero develop and get to the point in life where they need to be. In other words, the character should have a story arc. In films involving large casts, each character should have a story arc. It gives the film life.

Only one of the characters in Lawless has a story arc. The youngest Bondurant brother, Jack (Shia Labeouf), starts out as a sniveling weakling in a land of tough guys. As the film progresses and he experiences threats and fights and fame and fortune and gets the girls, he toughens up into a real man. That’s it. Neither of the other brothers, nor the mysterious dancer from Chicago (Jessica Chastain), nor any of the other characters grow during the film. They are the exact same people at the last frame as they were in the first frame. That is boring. We, the audience, keep waiting for them to DO something, 

but they never change their routine.

The only cast member with a story arc

Not only is the lack of character growth damaging to the story, the inclusion of all of these static characters makes the film about 40 minutes too long. I counted at least three characters who, had they been cut in editing, would never have been missed. I assume they are in the film because they were in the book.  

All this negativity aside, there are some good elements to Lawless. It’s fun to watch a cast this talented work with each other. There are a few fun bits, particularly with the brothers ribbing each other and with young Jack trying to woo the cute girl (Mia Wasikowski). The action feels real and visceral. If you ever wanted to know what happens when brass knuckles meet face or when knife meet throat, then you can find out by watching Lawless (both of those scenarios look painful).

Read this instead

Unfortunately, a well-crafted Depression-era setting, good acting across the board, brutal action, and a few fun moments here and there can’t save Lawless for me. I kept waiting for something more meaningful to happen.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Is a good cast of characters who just do what they do enough to draw your interest? Or do you prefer to see characters grow during the film? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!