John Hillcoat may not be the most prolific of directors, (just 6 feature films in 30 years), but with a John Hillcoat film you know precisely what you are going to get; gritty, extremely violent, male-orientated entertainments that, more likely or not, will be visually stunning and probably with a screenplay by Nick Cave. "Lawless" is archetypal Hillcoat. Apparently based on a true story it's set in Depression-era Virginia and is about a trio of bootlegger brothers , (Tom Hardy, Shia LeBeouf and Jason Clarke), who are targeted by a corrupt Deputy Sheriff, (Guy Pearce), and again Nick Cave wrote the screenplay and again it is almost sickeningly violent which means it's not going to appeal to everyone.Despite the talent involved, (and that includes cinematographer Benoit Delhomme and composers Cave and Warren Ellis), this is one of Hillcoat's lesser films. There are too many characters and too many star names, (Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Waiskowska are also involved), and too meandering a plot but even lesser Hillcoat is a cut above most of what passes for multiplex entertainment these days. Surprisingly, Hillcoat has remained more of a cult director than someone commanding the mainstream and maybe that's for the best. He may not be the most prolific of directors and his films may not bag loads of money but at least he has kept his cinematic dignity.

You just don't survive being shot through the guts like that. Even more, you don't survive that on top of being shot multiple times by 45acp and buck shot. There is just no need for such silliness and poor direction.

During prohibition in Franklin Co. Virginia, three restaurant entrepreneur brothers operate an illegal moonshine business. Unfortunately everyone wants a piece of the pie, one that they are not eager to share. The brothers consist of Forrest (Tom Hardy), the brains and philosopher of the group. Howard (Jason Clarke) is a berserker, and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) is the shy driver. Jack is sweet on a Mennonite preacher's daughter (Mia Wasikowska) who likes his "bad boy" image.Guy Pearce plays Charlie Rakes, a one sided unlikable crooked deputy who makes us root for the moonshiners. Jessica Chastain provides a little style to the film as a city girl (former feather dancer) who wants to get away from Chicago and winds up working the restaurant for Forrest.As things pan out, young Jack must suddenly grow himself a set and take over the family enterprise against the odds. Good acting. High intensity.Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Malinda Baker), implied rape.

Set in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits. When was the last time that you saw Shia LaBeouf in a great movie? You just found it. Lawless has some of the best performances from some particular actors such as Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jason Clarke, Shia LaBeouf and Jessica Chastain as for Gary Oldman is one of the problems with this film since his role is about 5 minutes and that is a problem also there are some dumb moments such as Shia throwing up on his shoes as Mia Wasikowska was trying to clean his feet and the film has the first acting being a Tom Hardy movie and the second act being a Shia LaBeouf film which it works cause his role as Jack needs to grow on you and they did that pretty well and Lawless is a pretty well damn film 9/10.