Lawless

★★★

(2012)

John Hillcoat's spirited "western" focuses on three illicit liquor barrens, the real life Bondurant brothers in prohibition-era Virginia. Though the film is wonderful to look at and a surprisingly strong performance by Shia Labeouf and an unsurprisingly strong performance by the hulking Tom Hardy, make it worthy, it's snappy violence and family drama make it seem slightly empty.

Forrest (Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (LaBeouf) spend their days running homemade moonshine to crooked cops and underground bars, trying and succeeding to keep the authorities off their back. That is of course until a snappily dressed and impressively creepy city cop arrives in the form of Charlie Rakes (Guy Piecre), determined to put a lid on the business.

Nick Cave's script (Cave has penned all but one of Hillcoats pictures) has the writer's evangelic presence stamped all over it, its violent air reminiscent of much of  the dark crooners work. He also writes 2 strong supporting female leads into the true story too but proceeds to waste both of them. The beautiful and talented Jessica Chastain who remarkably chases Hardy's Forrest and Mia Wasikowska's preachers daughter who soon warms to young Jacks advances, seem slightly too smart and pretty for the bruised and brutal men we are asked to root for. Sadly they have very little to do with the machismo on-screen.

Hillcoat's direction with his actors is his great strength and there are worthy performances here. LaBeouf almost steels the show with his tempestuous Al Capone wannabe, Gary Oldman is wonderful as always but sadly wasted as Floyd Banner, and Guy Pierce's pale devil is a fantastic turn but it's Hardy's charisma and presence, which could over-power anyone at the minute, that remains the strongest cog in this Lawless Machine.