Des hommes sans loi

Lawless has a great cast - Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce. - And a great story about three brother's growing up in Depression- era Virginia and based on a true story. The three brother's are bootleggers, but when a special deputy and other police figures want a cut of their action, their whole world turns upside down.

Everything seemed too good to be true. The cast, the story, everything. And it was, but only a little bit. The film was great, very enjoyable to watch, great acting from everyone involved. But the film, I felt, lacked something. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, as in they felt too two-dimensional. I didn't really feel how they felt at certain points and it should have showed the brotherhood more instead of opting for blood and violence. I think the film needed to be more humorous, because it needed something to ease the tension between those bloody scenes and I think that was it.

Shia LaBeouf was very good and Tom Hardy was even better. Even the smaller roles like Gary Oldman's character were acted well. I think it spent too much time on the whole romance aspect of it and it should have laid off of that a bit more. But the acting was great from everyone and it was an enjoyable time at the cinema. It is a good film, but didn't live up to the expectations I had.

A solid 7/10.

Even if this film feels like it didn't quite reach its potential, it's still a fairly watchable Prohibition-era drama. The cast is excellent with Tom Hardy leading the way and picking up the slack for Shia LaBeouf. Gary Oldman was shockingly underutilized though and Guy Pearce is great for most of the film, but goes a bit off the rails at the end. The action is solid, however the story doesn't really seem to go anywhere and set up a lot of lingering plot threads. Lawless isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it's a worthwhile watch.

This film was very well done in giving us that 1920s vibe when alcohol was prohibited during that time. Be aware that it is very intense and quite gory in some scenes so it's definitely not for the fainted heart!

Lawless takes a unique perspective of the prohibition era away from the gangsters of the day to the people that ran the moonshine distilling and distribution businesses behind the scenes and the challenges they faced. Based on a true story, this movie follows 3 brothers as they fight for their position and respect in the illegal business.

Few actors bring a high level of intensity to the character they play as Tom Hardy does and for his role as Forrest Bondurant, it's no let down. Shia LaBouf is too hokey an actor to take seriously in his role and tended to undersell some scenes due to a lack of appropriate or sincere expression and others like when he was getting a beat down by Special Deputy Charley Rakes couldn't oversell the scene more unless he did actual cartwheels after getting hit. The rest of the cast gave a quality performance and overall this movie is an interesting and exciting film to see.

Lawless is the story of the three Bondurant brothers from Franklin County, Virginia, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, and the runt of the litter Shia LaBoeuf. Before World War I the Bondurants made a good living selling moonshine, but now Prohibition has arrived and there are new problems on the horizon for those in that business.

One of the most colossal pieces of stupidity that America ever indulged in was Prohibition. We actually amended our constitution so that we could regulate morals. A good lesson for those who think regulation of one's personal behavior is a desired thing. What the Bondurants have to deal with is law enforcement which is in the form of a corrupt District Attorney Tim Tolin.

An idea like Prohibition is sure to bring out the corruption in many who see it as a way to take bribes. Tolin is one of those and he has a special deputy in Guy Pearce ready to enforce the law and those who don't bribe. That would be the Bondurants and we have the makings of an old fashioned mountain feud brewing.

LaBoeuf has a lot of trouble living up to the legend his brothers have created. In fact his weakness is the cause of a lot of problems. But when a young mountain kid Dane DeHaan is murdered by Pearce that gets a war started.

Both LaBoeuf and Pearce deliver some standout performances in Lawless. This is based on a novelization of some real incidents by a descendant of the Bondurant family. The recreation of Prohbition era rural Virginia is well done. Definitely worth a look.