Lawless (film)

''Lawless'' is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by John Hillcoat. The screenplay, by Australian singer-screenwriter Nick Cave, is based on Matt Bondurant's historical novel '' The Wettest County in the World'' (2008). The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Guy Pearce.

The film is about the violent conflict between three bootlegging brothers: Forrest (Hardy), Howard (Clarke), and Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf) — and the ruthless lawman Charley Rakes (Pearce), who tries to shut down the brothers' Prohibition-era moonshine business after Forrest refuses to pay him off. The film was in development for about three years before being produced. It screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was theatrically released on August 29, 2012.

Plot

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers — middle brother Forrest, eldest brother Howard, and youngest brother Jack — are running a successful moonshine business in Franklin County, Virginia. The brothers use their gas station and restaurant as a front for dealing with the assistance of Cricket, Jack's mechanically gifted friend who builds and maintains their stills. Jack witnesses rum-runner Floyd Banner shoot dead two federal agents in broad daylight for trying to arrest him.

Forrest hires Maggie, a financially struggling dancer, as a waitress. Shortly afterward, the gas station is visited by newly appointed U.S. Marshal Charley Rakes, accompanied by the sheriff and corrupt state's attorney Mason Wardell. Rakes demands that he and Wardell receive a cut of profits from all bootleggers within the county, including Forrest, in exchange for ignoring their operations. Forrest refuses and implores his fellow bootleggers to unite against Rakes, but they refuse.

Meanwhile, Jack lusts after Bertha, daughter of the local Brethren preacher. He attends their church service drunk, embarrassing himself but piquing her interest. Jack walks in on a visit from Rakes to Cricket's house and is beaten by him as a message to his brothers. Later that night, Forrest throws out two drunk customers who had been harassing and threatening Maggie. After Maggie leaves, Forrest is ambushed by the two men, who slit his throat. Maggie returns looking for Forrest but is beaten and raped by the men. She hides the assault from Forrest, not wanting him to take revenge.

While Forrest recovers at a hospital, Jack, deciding to retire from bootlegging rather than cross Rakes any further, crosses the county line with Cricket to sell their remaining liquor. They get ambushed by Banner and his crew but are spared when Jack reveals he is a Bondurant, whom Banner admires for their stance against Rakes. Banner reveals to Jack the address of his brother's assailants, revealing that both men are former bootleggers now working as deputy marshals for Rakes.

Forrest and Howard find, torture, and kill the men and send one of their testicles to Rakes. Banner becomes a regular client of the brothers, who invest their profits into setting up larger stills deep in the woods. Jack continues to court Bertha. Maggie decides to return to Chicago, but Forrest convinces her to stay and provides her with a spare room; they soon develop a romantic relationship. On a day trip, Jack decides to show Bertha the brothers' secret operation, but they are followed and ambushed by Rakes and his officers. Howard and Jack flee but Cricket and Bertha are caught. The police take Bertha home, while Cricket has his neck snapped by Rakes.

After Cricket's funeral, the sheriff warns the Bondurants that Rakes has set up a blockade at the bridge to trap them while Wardell arranges for Prohibition agents to round up every bootlegger in the county. Jack speeds off in Cricket's car to confront Rakes. Howard and Forrest quickly follow to provide backup, to Maggie's chagrin. She reveals she had delivered him to the hospital after the attack and Forrest realizes that she had been raped.

Jack arrives at the bridge but is wounded by Rakes. Howard and Forrest arrive, and a shootout ensues, during which Forrest and his driver are also wounded, the latter fatally. A convoy of bootleggers arrive and hold the lawmen at gunpoint. Rakes ignores them and attempts to execute Forrest but is shot in the leg by the sheriff in an attempt to halt the bloodshed. Rakes turns to leave the scene, but suddenly turns around and shoots Forrest several times. The convoy opens fire on Rakes, but he runs into a covered bridge. Since he is unable to run far, the badly wounded Jack and Howard follow and plunge a knife into Rakes' back, killing him.

Following the end of Prohibition in 1933, Wardell is arrested on corruption charges while the Bondurants are all married — Jack to Bertha, Forrest to Maggie, and Howard to a Martinsville woman — and working in legitimate occupations. During a festive reunion at Jack's house sometime later, Forrest drunkenly ambles to a frozen lake and falls into the freezing water. Although he drags himself out, he later dies of pneumonia, putting to rest the legend of his invincibility.

Cast

Production

Writer Matt Bondurant wrote the historical novel '' The Wettest County in the World'' (2008), based on the Prohibition-era bootlegging activities of his grandfather Jack Bondurant and grand-uncles Forrest and Howard. Producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher optioned the book in 2008 and sent it to director John Hillcoat. Hillcoat later said,

ootleggingsort of drew he Bondurantsinto this crazy kind of world of corruption and lawlessness ironically, but then mostly they survived, they got through it all and actually went on to have businesses and children. And traditionally the gangster film teaches us that we've got to pay for our sins. Usually the gangster is shot down in a blaze of glory and doesn't get up again.

Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave, who had worked together on the Western film '' The Proposition'' (2005), were attracted to the story by the success of the Bondurants. Hillcoat also said, "we also loved the idea that it sort of touched on the whole immortality that a lot of these guys start to feel when they do survive so many strange experiences."

The first actor to be cast was Shia LaBeouf as Jack, the youngest Bondurant brother. James Franco was attached to play Howard and Ryan Gosling was attached to play Forrest; Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson were also attached to the project. Originally titled ''The Wettest County in The World'', the same as the novel, the film's title was changed to ''The Promised Land''.

Although Hillcoat intended to begin shooting in February 2010, in January the project was reported to have fallen apart due to financing problems. Only LaBeouf remained with the project. He said that after he saw '' Bronson'' (2008), "I went home and wrote Tom ardya letter saying I was a fan. He sent me a script, and I sent him ''Lawless''. He called me back and said, 'This is fucking amazing. Cinematographer Benoît Delhomme recommended Jessica Chastain to Hillcoat. Chastain said, "I am a big fan of ''The Proposition''. I hadn't even read the script, but I told illcoat 'If you cast me, I'll do it.' I approach every role in terms of: 'Have I done this before? Is it something I'm repeating?' ''Lawless'' offered a new opportunity."

By December 2010, Hardy and Chastain were reported to have joined the project. Michael Benaroya of Benaroya Pictures and Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures were undertaking its financing. Jason Clarke and Dane DeHaan were cast in January 2011. Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, and Mia Wasikowska joined the cast in February 2011.

According to Cave, "a lot of the truly brutal stuff did not make it through into the film. In the book, you get lulled by the beautiful lyricism of the writing, then suddenly you are slapped in the face by a graphic description of a killing. I tried to be true to that as much as I could." He also said the filmmakers "tried to stay as true to the original story as possible", adding "we kind of changed aspects of the personality and temperament of Rakes to get earceinvolved."

Before Pearce was cast, "Rakes, the character Rakes, was very much like the character in the book. He was a nasty country cop. We made him a city cop, gave him his disturbed sexuality and all the rest of it," Cave said. Pearce created the hairstyle worn by Rakes in the film.

''Lawless'' was filmed early 2011 in various locations near Atlanta, Georgia, including Newnan, Grantville, Haralson, LaGrange

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