Lawless (2012)
Lawless, the new film from the highly talented John Hillcoat, the man behind the admirable The Proposition and the emotional roller-coaster that is the post-apocalyptic adventure The Road, now returns to a similar stamping ground that made The Proposition so successful. Reunited with the surprisingly brilliant writing talents of one Nick Cave and the vast acting talents of another Guy Pearce, Lawless delivers in more ways than one for me. Of course, the common traits of a western are all there to see, but it’d feel like an injustice to say that Lawless is just another funny, entertaining gangster epic. Firstly, it’s a souring epic of angst. And secondly, it almost feels like somewhat a study of family dynamics.
Prior to viewing Lawless, my expectations were fairly non-existent. I normally find Shia LaBeouf to an awful human being and an even worse actor, but his performance here is worthy of all the potential acclaim I feel he deserves. It’s a performance laced with emotion, power, strength, love and anger and he delivers each line with such an authority that it’s a surprise that his career has been built around such car wrecks as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Also impressive in Lawless is the large, brooding mad man that is Tom Hardy, who does career best work here, and the mighty talents of Mia Wasikowska as the love interest of LaBeouf’s character. Lawless is a film written such authenticity, adrenaline and attitude that even the never ending roll call of glorious talent with Gary Oldman and Jessica Chastain on the back end isn’t even the strongest aspect of this ascending and slick western.
89/100
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