"Lawless" (2012) Directed by John Hillcoat

“It is not the violence that sets men apart. It is the distance he is prepared to go”.

Based on the book “The wettest county in the world” by Matt Bondurant, and set against a highly recommended soundtrack and original music from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, this is John Hillcoat’s gangster film, with hints of noir too. Nick Cave again deserves credit for both the screenplay and the soundtrack collaboration with Warren Ellis. Mainly incorporating tracks from The Bootleggers there are also original pieces from Cave and Ellis and “Midnight Run” from Willie Nelson.

In 1930’s USA, with prohibition in force we follow the bloody and violent exploits of three brothers determined to make their mark, regardless of law enforcement and their burgeoning moonshine business. The film is mainly set in the small town of Franklin/Franklin County, in which the brothers own and control their territory. Although regular tips/bribes/moonshine is given to the local authorities, it’s clear early on in the piece that the brothers need to defend their illegal business and defend it they do, often with bloody and graphic violence. Combined with the Director’s use of wide shots (with customary brilliance) depicting the wide open rural town and landscape (returning Director of Photography Benoit Delhomme also deserves special praise) with a distinctive yet sometimes unintelligible “drawl” accent and some stunning performances, the scene is set for yet another brilliant John Hillcoat movie.

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The above opening paragraphs are taken from my original review of "Lawless" penned and published nearly a decade ago, transferred to my Medium blog site and which can be read in full and for free via my original article linked immediately below:

https://medium.com/@stephenblackford561/john-hillcoat-life-through-his-lens-9c9d5a88bf3b

This spoiler free review is also integral to volume 3 of my 7 volume series of "essential film reviews collection". Currently only available in e-book format, each exhaustive volume of multiple spoiler free film reviews is priced at £4.99 however, should you have an Amazon Kindle "Unlimited" package, you can read each and every volume for free:

Volume 3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4JTLRY1

All 7 Volumes

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4HZSTTH?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

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