I am going to start by saying this. This film is really interesting. If you know your history then you will find it more interesting than the average person. Now lets talk about what is good about this film. Th cast: Tom Hardy was definitely the strongest actor in this movie. You may struggle to understand him at first because the accent he uses for this film is very strong, but if you've seen 'The Dark Knight Rises' then you'll have no trouble understanding him. Hardy's character (Forest Bondurant) is instantly likeable, he's funny (not as in he's a comedian in it, just the way he acts and speaks is funny) and brutal, whenever he gets into a brawl, he kicks ass. Shia LaBeouf is also pretty good, but at first his character is really annoying, and it does take a while to get to like him. Other strong performances were Guy Pearce's (he is one of the most evil looking people I've ever seen in a movie) and Dane DeHaan (the kid from 'Chronicle'). I was disappointed to see that Gary Oldman has a very small part. I mean he's important; he's a really influential character to Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf), but he has very little screen time. I would also have like to have seen more of Jason Clarke (as Howard Bondurant).
The story is also pretty good. It's simple, but effective. It takes us through the lives of the Bondurant brothers and they storm through life as bootleggers, constantly having to adapt to new prohibition laws and being hunted by Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Pearce). What I really love about this movie is how brutal it is. At every opportunity when there's some scrapes, it's brutal, we are guaranteed blood and snapping noises. It's brilliant! There are some really good scenes, and some incredibly moving ones too. I love films based on true events, obviously with the story coming from a novel I have no idea how accurate these events are, but what they have done really well in this film is slot it in with American history. Obviously it fits in with Prohibition and how gangsters flourished because of it, but it also includes topics like segregation (I noticed little things like a water fountain that had a sign saying 'White' attached to it), which was a major problem during this period. It also looks at equality, by that I mean the lack of equality between men and women; about how women are seen as objects by many men. It also very briefly glances at the difference between how white women were treated and how black women were treated. Basically if you are interested in history, you'll notice a lot more of the underlining factors than the average person, making the film more interesting for you.
Now the only other thing that I think was bad about this film, apart from what I've already mentioned about the cast, is the pacing. The film is very slow, it picks up for short amounts of time, but then slows back down again. It isn't a film that is driven by action, rather it is driven by personal performances and stories. So I think people will go to this movie expecting an action flick, but will be disappointed.
In conclusion, it is by no means a bad movie, I really enjoyed it, it has great performances, an interesting story set in an interesting period in American history. It is just a bit slow for my liking. I would still recommend going to see it, and I imagine that one day this film will be played in history lessons when learning about Prohibition and gangsters alongside 'The Untouchables'. I am going to give 'Lawless' an 8.5/10.
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