Lawless : Movie Review


In spite of—or maybe in light of—its bland theatrical trailer and a Depression-era story that sounds overly familiar at first sight, "Lawless" exceeds all expectations. With bad memories of everything from 1998's "The Newton Boys" to 2001's "American Outlaws," which made a specific time and place of the past look like dress rehearsal, here is a legitimate, intoxicating drama with just enough visual sweep to encapsulate its setting and just enough intimacy to give its characters the dimension and life they demand. Written by musician Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat (2009's "The Road") with an enthralling mixture of lyricism and curdled blood, the film is at once heartfelt and wrenching, quietly ominous and literally cutthroat, a western-cum-gangster-saga in a vein both classic and modern. Filled top to bottom with the highest of talent in front of the camera and behind the scenes, it's good enough to even make the viewer forget how colorless its renamed title is (it's based on the best-selling novel "The Wettest County in the World" by Matt Bondurant).

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Author : Dustin Putman