Lawless

Actors:  Shia Lebeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman
Rating:  9 out of 10, The Bondurant brothers enters cinema history as a collection of entertaining characters delivered by great actors in supremely nuanced performances.  This was another great outing by Tom Hardy who steals every scene he’s in while saying virtually nothing – talk about screen presence.  I think this is what Ryan Gosling is going for in his staring mode but he’s not the actor Hardy is who carries it off with élan here.  Hardy is perfect as the quiet but indestructible head of the family bootlegging business. I’m sure a lot of critics will complain about the mumbling but if they really looked beyond the points of their noses they’d see that he’s made this an effective part of his character. I loved the interplay between him and Jessica Chastain. It takes two really good actors to depict the subtle progress of the romance portrayed here. Guy Pearce is the villain and I was amazed once again at his versatility going from the hero mode in the last movie I saw him in to the totally evil scoundrel here. I’m not a big fan of Shia Lebeouf, especially when he tries to be an action guy, but here he plays a “poser” who’s not tough and it worked.  There was a real texture to this movie which transports the viewer back to depression era Appalachia.  From the previews you would think Oldman played a big part in this movie but I think he had more screen time in the previews than he did in the actual movie.  This movie is a clear win, action, drama, and a serious amount of heart. 
MVP:  Hardy as the indestructible older brother Forrest Bondurant