6.5/10
This movie really nails the atmosphere of 1930's gothic America, not that I was there to experience it or anything, helped along by its really great soundtrack (re-working the Velvets' "White Light/White Heat" as a bluegrass-y number was a very inspired choice). Actually the setting and the soundtrack probably made this a better experience then it had right to be. The script can best be called 'perfunctory' - it's pretty rote stuff with no real surprises along the way, and a few bizarre decisions. Gary Oldman's gangster Floyd Banner sits uncomfortably against the rest of the movie, not on the outside but not integrated well enough either. As far as casting, Jessica Chastain also seems a little out of place. I got the feeling she was playing a part originally intended for Christina Hendricks or somebody. Chastain always brings it as an actress, but I didn't feel she was right for this part. Guy Pearce is very good and very unlikeable as the sniveling deputy.
Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke play the three bootlegging brothers, and they all do well enough, although the script trying to occasionally paint Hardy's character as a kind of philosopher-tough-guy was worth a few groans.
Given the players involved, it's reasonable to have expected more from Lawless. It's decent entertainment for 2 hours but outside of its soundtrack, it's nothing particularly memorable either. I also wish they had stuck with the original title and the title of the source material (The Wettest County in the World) instead of slapping a vague, meaningless title like "Lawless" on it.
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