Lawless

Brainless, plotless, gutless. A flat gangster film for beginners, which is the same as counterfeit whiskey, has all the necessary ingredients, but its taste lacks any of the sophistication of the original. If some people are satisfied with Hardy with a single grimace, Pearce acting on the verge of tolerability and LaBeouf the same as always, then by all means. I expect more from a prohibition gangster film than the familiar sentimental macho poses... (03/07/2012)

I have always liked the genre and the sight of the cast that participated in Lawless was reassuring to me. I wasn't even warned by some of the critical reactions from my favorite reviewers. After watching it, however, I'm joining in with the biggest critics. The effort of the crew to shoot something great cannot be overlooked, but only the set design can be accepted without reservation. The casting turned out to be a disaster. Shia LaBeouf is unremarkable and incredibly annoying with his good-natured face. In the relevant genre, he is unquestionably the most annoying protagonist I can think of. Tom Hardy is established in genre cinema as an actor portraying tough guys, including economy of speech. But here, he manages with just one expression throughout, pushing his performance towards the boundaries of caricature. Guy Pearce, with his terrible overacting, in my opinion, crosses the line in his portrayal of the main villain. The other actors only fulfill the expectations we have of typical characters from the Prohibition era. Jessica Chastain looks beautifully corrupt, and Mia Wasikowska is a pure soul, pleasing at least the male audience. The film has a sluggish pace, occasionally interrupting the viewer's lethargy with a drastic scene. The western scheme that John Hillcoat tries to graft onto his film seems inappropriate and leads to WTF scenes like a bloody reckoning while the entire police force passively watches. To sum it up, the first half is boring, and the second gets on your nerves. Overall impression: 40%. (08/01/2021)

Three and a half stars. If the script had cared as much about the third (and equally interesting) brother as it did about Jack and Forrest, if Gary Oldman had been given more space, and if the incredibly slimy Guy Pearce hadn't been a simple comic-book caricature but rather a believable villain, it would have been even better. But the atmosphere is very pleasant and, thanks to the music, I am rounding up. (16/02/2013)

Do you love Prohibition? Okay, then. Are you ready for some real bloody carnage? Okay, then. Are you interested in something more than just a bloody slaughter? Then you're in the wrong place. Of course, for those interested in a more comprehensive look at Prohibition, I recommend the series Boardwalk Empire. (08/02/2017)

It is excellently mixed both in terms of characters and style, as well as audiovisual composition. It is clear from the very beginning that it will not be a technically inventive and sophisticated film, but rather a slightly intimate and twisted ride that, in some aspects, reminds of Tarantino in the violence, the antagonist and the dialogues. However, it is a classic, linearly told gangster story about friendship and love during the Prohibition era. Some things may not work as they should or are a bit of a safe bet (the musical score, shootouts where we wouldn't expect them, the final carnage). But that the screenplay is unpredictable, you don’t know what will happen in 10 minutes, and this tells me that this thing certainly deserves high ratings and recognition. It is difficult within the genre to create something original based solely on internal, non-technical attributes of a film. At least partially, they have succeeded here. (06/10/2012)