Lawless - Review

"We're survivors.  We control the fear.  Without that fear, we're as good as dead."

At the beginning of Lawless, we meet three brothers who have reached legend status in a small, southern town.  But they aren't the "good guy" type of legend.  Just the opposite is true. They have instilled a fear in the townsfolk that sparks whispers of their wildly brutal actions.  The brothers subscribe to a sort of self-fulling prophecy of immortality - if believe themselves to be invincible, they become invincible.  These strikingly different men are brought to life by three similarly distinct actors - Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke.  Tom Hardy shines again as a quietly terrifying yet sympathetic character, while Jason Clarke's character is more openly dangerous and wild.  Shia does a fine job as the youngest and most innocent of the brothers; obviously his character has the biggest arc as violence surrounds and consumes him.  Surprising things happen to each of the brothers, and their dream of "immortality" becomes more and more uncertain.  Each one's fate is perhaps the biggest surprise of all.

However, these characters exist in world where plot is secondary to style and mood.  It's largely OK for the plot to be a bit flimsy in a genre that depends much more heavily on atmosphere.  I do wish the film had fleshed out the Gary Oldman-as-a-badass-gangster plot.  It felt like the talented actor was included in the world of Lawless almost as an afterthought and wasn't given his due screen time.  The film also makes it difficult to root for the characters at times.  Luckily, the female characters (Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska) create a great foil for the brothers and help establish some balance to the otherwise male-dominated genre.  It's never unclear who we're supposed to root against (clearly the flamboyant Guy Pearce character).  But the brothers commit such violent acts that we feel a little guilty condoning their vengeful deeds.  Regardless, the film creates several nice set pieces and successfully creates the stylized world of the western.  While Lawless doesn't reach the level of immortality that it sets out to, it's still a great exercise in genre and atmosphere.

3.5 out of 5