That’s right! It’s Tuesday, which means you guys get a full movie review. What’s the movie this week? Lawless. Before I start, remember: if you want a funnier version of what you’re about to read–not to mention hear me spoil the ending–listen to my podcast featuring the hilarious Jeff Olivero. Here is a direct link to our podcast site. HERE. If you want to download it from iTunes, the link is at the bottom of this page.

Directed by: John Hillcoat
Screenplay by: Nick Cave
Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, Guy Pearce
I might as well say right off the bat that I really like this flick. It was definitely one of the better movies that came out this year. But it had Tom Hardy in it, so I wouldn’t expect anything less.
If you haven’t seen the movie, it should be on the top of your list of movies to watch this weekend as long as you don’t mind a little bit of blood. Or a lot of blood depending on your gauge.
Lawless is the story of three brothers who run a moonshine business back during the years of prohibition. It is a gritty tale of all the behind the scenes action that took place when selling moonshine was dangerous.
Now for one, Tom Hardy and Shia Labeouf brought their A game. I’ve always looked up to Shia Labeouf as an actor because he has never been afraid to look stupid on camera if it was for the purpose of his character. Now a days, actors don’t just try to make their character the best it can be, they try to make themselves look good in the process. Instead of crying and pretending to be scared, new-school actors will try to look cool doing it. Not Shia Labeouf. There’s a scene in this flick where he gets the shit beat out of him by a character named Rake. Not only does he get the shit kicked out of him, but he begs for him to stop. The greatest part about that scene is that I really believed that he was begging for his life. That’s something only a handful of actors have ever made me feel like before. Tom Hardy was also great in the film. He had a specific mannerism that he did throughout the movie. I’m gonna try my hardest to explain what it was. Several times in the flick, instead of speaking, Tom Hardy’s character, Forest, would grunt the sound, “Argh.” It was hilarious, and something that only Tom Hardy could pull off.
But to me, the real gem in this movie was Guy Pearce. After doing a little bit of research, I found out that writer Nick Cave altered the character of Rake specifically to get Guy Pearce to agree to do the film. I’m glad he did, because he phenomenal in this movie. There aren’t many characters without facial alterations (Freddy, Jason, Michael, etc.) who genuinely terrify me, but Guy Pearce actually freaked me out. It reminded me of DeNiro in Cape Fear.
This flick is beautiful movie about revenge in the best way. I juggles with power from both sides and stays true to its grittiness the entire time. Whether Tom Hardy is getting his throat sliced or is slicing off some guys balls, the gore is this movie is top tier. The story is engaging and the actors get you attached. Everyone gets shot at some point, and a lot of people get the shit kicked out of them. The movie is still fairly new, so I don’t want to ruin the ending for anyone. I know I said that Tom Hardy gets his throat slit, but–spoiler–that doesn’t kill him. Did I mention the cinematography in this movie was good? It was. The color scheme was amazing too. Damn, I am just bandwagoning the hell out of this flick. I feel like I bag on movies so much that occasionally, a good movie deserves it’s praise.
My advice? Go watch the movie. And if you want to hear how it ends? Go listen to my podcast featuring the hilarious Jeff Olivero! Click HERE. I promise, you’ll enjoy it. That’s not an iTunes link, by the way. It’s a direct link to my podcast site. A lot easier, I believe. However, here is the iTunes link as well: HERE. You know what would solve all of these problems? If you subscribed to the podcast on iTunes. It will automatically download the podcast for you whenever you open iTunes. Thanks for reading!
Lawless Rating: 9/10.