We saw Lawless last night and I am definitely ambivalent (whatever that means). It's a wonderfully shot movie that is full of period detail and prohibition-era excess, but, there are just so many dangling plot lines. Taken from a novel based on "truth", the Bondurant brothers are irrepressible bootleggers confronted by a sociopathic liquor agent, way back in the woods in Virginia. I was definitely interested since the script was done by uber-intelligent musician Nick Cave, directed by John Hillcoat, who also directed the downest move in all imaginable history, The Road.
Shia Labeouf is OK as the weaker link among the brothers, trying to become a real gangster. Gary Oldman is largely wasted as a city gangster, making inroads into the white lightning world. Jessica Chastain is also mostly wasted as a fallen woman who somehow thinks she will find peace in this rural hellhole, another interesting character that just doesn't develop.
Guy Pierce is excellent as the psycho agent, but the role is completely one-dimensional. Tom Hardy is probably the biggest stand out, coming out from behind the Bane makeup, being the indestructable partner in the brother triad.
Warning, bloody violence is always right around the corner, tension is constant. I actually liked the movie more than it seems, but it could have been so much more.
