Des hommes sans loi

Reading the other reviews, I'm amused by the number of reviewers who don't have a clue about how southern rural hill people behave (and esp. behaved back in the 1920s). They accuse Hardy, and to some extent LaBeouf, of bad acting because their characters are so laconic (that means they don't run off at the mouth a lot) and inward and don't wear every emotion on their sleeves. Then they mightily praise Oldman and Pearce for great acting when they were, in fact, just playing northern urban gangsters who like to behave over the top---the very thing that disgusts southern sensibilities.

The folks making those review comments have probably spent too much time watching movies based on comic books and not enough time with dramatic characters representing actual human beings. So don't pay attention to their noise.

Instead, watch the flick. It's good. I enjoyed it.

Lawless was extremely well filmed, looked great and stayed true to year it was set in. The cast was strong and all delivered good performances, especially Tom Hardy, who once again showed how much of a versatile actor he is. Shia LaBeouf was also a stand out performer for me.

The plot is simple but easy to follow. There are some extremely gruesome scenes and some bits of good gun action. Apart from a few scenes, the film was pretty much just dialouge. There wasn't much going on really. It was a decent film but ultimately it is something that I won't remember in a few weeks. I can see why some have rated it so highly, I guess this just isn't the sort of thing I normally like. It was good but I wouldn't watch it again.

7/10.

I really like The Proposition so this reteam of Hillcoat and writer Nick Cave, who since he composed the greatest score in cinematic history in The Assassination of Jesse James can do no wrong in my eyes, was very promising, especially with a set piece and era that we haven't seen in a long while. Unfortunately, Lawless is tedious through and through. It's sequences go from bursts of heartless violence to development-less talking. The problem is its atmosphere, which could also be attributed to the choice of digital photography. It tries to be gritty, with its music hinting back to one of my favourite western TV shows, Deadwood, but the slick cinematography is just completely lifeless. It just feels like nobody's heart was truly in it (besides Guy Peace's menacing villain) with no chemistry between anyone. It was a huge mistake to try and force some romance subplots in here. There's nothing too bad about Lawless, besides its humourless and cold approach, it's just disappointingly average given the talent.

6/10

Hold it everyone! Don't be put off because this has Shia Le Beouf in it. Yes, some of you loath him for the Transformers movies, Indy 4 and plenty of other stuff. However, in this one he manages to find a good vehicle to change his tact.

We are in prohibition time, in the countryside in Virginia. The men are tough and they enforce their own law protecting their moonshine businesses. However they aren't the cringing redneck cliché of many other films; this isn't Deliverance. This is a dark movie where it seems those outwith of the religious community live and survive by force. In comes law enforcers from outside led by a sadistic sergeant, and we have an explosive mix.

Again, don't get the wrong impression. This film isn't about gung-ho good v evil. This is a lot more. Based on a true story (albeit likely taking big liberties with the truth), this is about the relationship of three brothers: two are ruthless whilst the third (Le Beouf) is weak. They look out for each other and that's the real nub.

Action comes generally in short sharp moments, but thankfully doesn't detract from the rest of the movie. Surprisingly some great acting and great camera work.

Personally, I enjoyed this very much. Ending was the only bit I was disappointed with but rest was very good. Give it a try, you may be surprised with what you find.

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!