The Assassination Of A Bootlegging Gangster Movie By The Misguided Guy Pearce

Lawless

Dir: John Hillcoat

Stars: Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain

Lawless is a rough crime drama set in Virginia during The Great Depression. It follows the true story of the three Bondurant brothers who made their fortune producing and selling moonshine, despite fierce opposition from their competitors and the law. Of course the rise of the gangster is never smooth; and the Bondurants business is constantly muddied by intimidation, violence, vengeance and pain.

The power of Lawless lies mainly in its cast. Tom Hardy grunts and lurches his way through the film as the indomitable Forrest, a mountain of masculinity that Hardy oddly described as playing with the demeanour of “an old lesbian” yet the subtle authority of “the grandmother from Sylvester and Tweety”. Shia LeBeouf delivers a career-best performance as the young Jack Bondurant, whose involvement in a variety of subplots allows him to display more versatility than would be possible in a lifetime of Transformers movies. Jessica Chastain also proves the old edict that “there are no small parts, only small actors” and despite her limited screen time, steals nearly every scene that she’s in with her strength and subtlety.

However, there is a single performance in the film which is not only unconvincing from an actor who we have seen do better, but also exemplifies Lawless’ weaknesses in general. Guy Pearce plays Charlie Rakes, an intimidating Chicago police officer who is looking to shake down the Bondurants by any means possible. Pearce insisted on designing a character with a ‘distinctive’ look (which is as off-putting as his rôle in Prometheus); and his performance is incredibly misguided. In amongst the dustbowl subtlety of the rest of the ensemble, Pearce acts more like a cross between Hans Landa and Goldfinger – a maniacal caricature of a villain whose recklessness leaves you wondering how he climbed to such a high position in the police without being sectioned.

Pearce’s outlandish performance brings down most of the scenes he’s in, puncturing the drama of the true story and diluting the audience’s suspension of disbelief. Whilst there are many strong performances in the film, they are sometimes hampered by Nick Cave's flawed script that only really gives Shia LeBeouf’s character room to develop; resulting in Gary Oldman and Mia Wasikowksa only appearing on screen for a few minutes.

Lawless is bloody and brooding, and features some great acting performances. However, Guy Pearce’s problematic characterisation and a script lacking in direction may leave it dry as a dustbowl come awards season.

7 / 10