As football season kicks off this weekend, chances are slim for any trips to the movies. Even if you've devoted your Saturday evening to the television or your trip to Atlanta, there are still two vacant days in the holiday weekend to swing by the nearest theater and catch 'Lawless.'
Most viewers, especially those of us in the South, might approach this with a speculative eye as Hollywood has never been kind with southern stereotypes. 'Lawless' might be the remedy to that situation.
Filmed forty-five minutes from our home on The Plains, this Prohibition-era flick offers more than what the trailers exposed.
The story follows Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the runt of the moonshining Bondurant brothers in Franklin County, Va., at the height of Prohibition.
As new law enforcement tries to crack down on the otherwise ignored illegal booze industry, Jack tries to follow and imitate the strength of his older brother, the silent, invincible Forrest (Tom Hardy).
Along with the oldest brother, Howard (Jason Clark), they face the escalating tolls set by Special Agent Charlie Rake (Guy Pearce), who embodies a demented brutality that earns this film its R-rating.
'Lawless' delivers to the high film festival standard of acting and doesn't sacrifice any realism for Hollywood glamour. Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain help to round out the cast as two equally strong yet different women that can hold their own with the Bondurant brothers.
Despite his fame for the 'Transformers' films, LaBeouf has managed to take his stock character of the runty younger brother and finally add depth and personality to counter Pearce's eerie cold nature and callousness.
These performances, paired with an overwhelming southern atmosphere, paint an image untainted by cliches with its own mix of suspense, action, and off color humor.
I highly recommend this film, but with a warning to all those searching for something to ease them through the hangovers from Saturday night.
'Lawless' is hardly the spoon-fed plot and deserves an attentive audience to set the scene.
Don't expect to predict the ending after five minutes either. Be sure to have a thirst for grit as well as a settled stomach, because 'Lawless' deserves its rating primarily for blood and violence.
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