When the law became corrupt, outlaws became heroes.
Three brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke), who run a small bootlegging operation in Virginia during Prohibition, are targeted by a corrupt District Attorney and his ruthless enforcer (Guy Pearce). Based on a real-life story, which was chronicled by Jack Bondurant’s grandson Matt in a novel, this gangster movie has strong performances by Hardy as the grunting, virtually indestructible older brother and Pearce as the creepy agent with no eyebrows, the opposite of Eliot Ness. The story is bloody and engaging, but why hire Gary Oldman for such a small role?
2012-U.S. 116 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by John Hillcoat. Screenplay: Nick Cave. Novel: Matt Bondurant (“The Wettest County in the World”). Music: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis. Cast: Shia LaBeouf (Jack Bondurant), Tom Hardy (Forrest Bondurant), Jason Clarke (Howard Bondurant), Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska… Gary Oldman.
Trivia: Ryan Gosling, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Shannon were allegedly considered for roles.
