One of the film’s I’m happiest to see as part of the Cannes Film Festival is John Hillcoat’s Lawless starring Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) as the freewheelin’ Bondurants brothers in what is described as a true story centered on the bootlegging siblings.
Once titled The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant, writing about his grandfather and two granduncles, the film follows the story of the rural hard-men that created the big city gangsters. Brazen and fearless, these young rebel brothers helped build the American Dream in this exuberant tale of what was to become crime’s first major gold rush. The youngest brother, Jack (LaBeouf), fancies himself the next Al Capone; he dreams of sharp suits, guns, girls and fast cars, no matter the cost.
Ambitious and impulsive, Jack takes the family’s small–scale moonshining operation to the big leagues, to impress the gorgeous but off–limits Amish girl, Bertha (Mia Wasikowska). The middle brother, Howard (Jason Clarke), is the brawling muscle — loyal but reckless — never one to turn down a taste of white lightning. And eldest brother, Forrest (Hardy), reluctantly accepts the changing times with grace and grit, leading the family with strength of character and silent determination against the beginnings of corporate greed. An enigmatic and stunning Maggie (Jessica Chastain) comes to town with a hidden past, igniting his passion and almost saving him in the process. As the Bondurants’ legend grows, so too does the danger, and it’s not long before the brothers must face the consequences of their transgressions, or rewrite the myth and the law themselves. Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman co-star.
The film won’t hit theaters until August 31, and if the confidence the Weinstein Co. is showing in it by premiering it in France three months early is any sign, we are in for a treat.
You can check out the first trailer for the film directly below.
