Lawless Review

[Westside Steve]

Lawless

Weinstein

R 115 min

With my roots going back to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in East Ohio I am intrigued by stories of Mountain folk. This tale, LAWLESS Is the film adaptation of the memoirs of Matt Bondurant, descendant of the legendary Bondurant moonshining clan that served the needs of drinking folk in prohibition era Virginia.

Of course that's a fair piece from my rural beginnings but what the heck, it should be interesting. I did wonder as I settled in before the show, about the romantic idea we have always had about the bootlegging industry. From Al Capone to the moonshiner in Irish song lore to the white lightning traffic in the south it's part of our heritage. I guess we subconsciously avoid drawing parallels to the Mexican drug cartels of today.

At any rate this is more of a slice of life film than a story with a beginning and an end.

One thing I try to pay special attention to is the dialect factor. In this case I give the actors, and more the dialect coach, the benefit of the doubt because I'm not certain of the changes in a Virginia rural dialect from the 30's to the present but they didn't sound like any Virginians I have heard recently.

I did like the look of the film throughout. Misty and dusty and almost sepia tone it had the look of days gone by.

The main story here is the conflict between Forrest Bondurant, the family elder brother (Tom Hardy-a long way from Bane) and corrupt special deputy Charlie Rakes. (Played with chilling brutality by Guy Pearse.) Although younger brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) has never been thought of as strong enough to be a major player in the family business he will eventually come into his own after Forrest is hospitalized. In a side plot Jack also courts the strict preacher’s daughter.

After quite a few rounds of violence the feud between the Bondurants and Rakes comes to a head.

Historically we know that soon after Prohibition was lifted the moon shining industry went by the wayside and that's where the story ends as the Bondurants are now everyday members of society. The actual events have been tweaked just enough to keep the story interesting. It could have been the hillbilly godfather with the addition of a little more fiction, yet I think as a memoir it works just fine.

And I’m always happy to see Gary Oldman efven in a smaller part.

B

WSS