NEW TRAILER FOR JOHN HILLCOAT’S LAWLESS

I make no apologies for my love of John Hillcoat. While this doesn’t really come up when talking about his under-seen, under-appreciated outback Western The Proposition, it does come up pretty often when I talk about The Road. Hillcoat is a master of violence, and when he weights it with a story of brotherhood and betrayal like in The Proposition he sings. The Road, however, made violence almost all the story. Even though there is a strong father-son dynamic, violence was the only propulsion to be found in the narrative, which made things more bleak than thrilling or engaging.

I liked it. Others didn’t, and that is understandable.

However, given the story at the heart of Hillcoat’s new film, Lawless, I think there won’t be a reason for everyone to not get behind this film. Following the fortunes of the bootlegging Bondurant brothers, this film should see the perfect melding of character, plot, and harrowing violence that made The Proposition such a dark, visceral, and wonderful film.

Looks pretty good. As someone who is in the middle of the novel, I think I see some divergences, but nothing too startling. The trailer is cut like your average film, but I have great anticipation for this film, which has now only risen thanks to seeing some of the boys in action.

Lawless, starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy – alongside Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce – opens August 31.