Movie Review: LAWLESS

LAWLESS

2012

R

"I'm a Bondurant. We don't lay down for nobody."

-- Forrest Bondurant

Lawless is a 2012 crime drama directed by John Hillcoat that is adapted from Matt Bondurant's 2008 novel, The Wettest County in the World. The story follows the Bondurants, a family of three brothers led by the eldest Forrest (Tom Hardy), who run an illegal moonshine business in Franklin County, Virginia in the midst of the Prohibition era. With the help of his brothers Jack (Shia LaBeouf) and Howard (Jason Clarke), Forrest has become one of the biggest suppliers of moonshine in the county. One day, a special deputy from Chicago named Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) is brought into the county in order to destroy the bootlegging businesses, and he immediately clashes with the Bondurant clan. He starts to rid the county of its numerous illegal distilleries, and he soon starts a personal vendetta against Forrest Bondurant. Youngest brother Jack finds a way to keep the business afloat, only increasing the tension between the brothers and the ever-present Rakes.

I first heard about this film about a year ago when it was still to be titled The Wettest County in the World. At the time, I took a passing glance, noticing it merely for its casting star power, but it didn't necessarily ring a bell as a must-see. When the film's trailer was released, however, something about the stylistic grittiness compelled me to at least give it a view. The film has opened to moderately positive reviews, but I can't quite say they've been entirely stellar thus far.

One of the biggest issues most critics - including myself - have had with Lawless is its screenplay. While there's definitely a strong and emotional story of family bonds and revenge hidden beneath it all, there seems to be a little too much extra storyline given to the film. At its core, the story should be about the three brothers and their loyalty to one another, regardless of how much they drive one another crazy. There were a few ancillary characters that turned out to be more important than they should have been, and it ultimately helps to bog down the story a little bit. Despite this, the film's climax and finale still prove to be quite strong, even with the obstacles along the way.

Where this film's strength truly lies is in its cast. Now, I have to start by saying that I have never been much of a fan of Shia LaBeouf. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but there have been times where I have downright hated his presence on-screen. However, I think Lawless will ultimately be the film where we as the audience see LaBeouf mature into a legitimate actor right before our very eyes. At the start of the film, he almost seems a little bit of touch, as he often does, but by film's end, there's a power and a grace to his acting ability that I haven't seen him convey before. I have to tip my hat to the young actor for breaking out of his acting shell and transforming (pun intended) himself into something entirely different.

The rest of the cast fills out quite nicely as well. Tom Hardy continues to prove to me that he is one of the better actors working in Hollywood today. You can place his performance in Lawless right next to his noteworthy turns in 2009's Bronson and 2011's Warrior. Pearce is also great as the film's central villain, and I thought he brought the film's second-best character (behind Hardy's Forrest) to the screen. Also worth mention for their smaller, albeit not entirely necessary, roles are Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, who all manage to bring strong performances to the film.

At the end of the day, Lawless manages to bring together a very strong ensemble cast that ultimately falls prey to a less-than-stellar screenplay. Still, the strength of the performances helps to keep this film afloat, and an emotional second act gives the audience an opportunity to stay engaged and involved with the events on-screen. See it for Hardy and Pearce's performances, and be surprised by the growth of Shia LaBeouf into a legitimate actor.

Movie Review Summary

Grade: B+

Status: Should See

Movie Review: THE HELP

THE HELP

2011
PG-13


"Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."
-- Charlotte Phelan

The Help is 2011 drama directed by Tate Taylor based off Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name that centers around the civil rights movement during the 1960s. After graduating from college, aspiring writer Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) returns home to Jackson, Mississippi and starts to see the normal day-to-day process in a different light. Growing up, Skeeter, like every other white child, was essentially raised by an African-American maid who worked for a very low wage. Every white family had such a maid, making it a commonplace theme throughout the community. Skeeter, however, begins to see the oppression that these maids face on a daily basis, so she decides to take action. After a bit of prodding, she manages to secure the help of two maids - Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) - to create a series of memoirs and stories chronicling the livelihood of a maid. Knowing that their activities are illegal, the trio meets in secret in order to comprise their novel, and their bewildering behavior starts to cause concern amongst some of the upper echelon of womenfolk in the community, namely Skeeter's mother Charlotte (Allison Janney) and the head of the Justice League, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard).

The Help has been on my radar for quite a while now, and I've been meaning to see it since its initial theatrical run last summer. Now that it has garnered four Academy Award nominations, I figured it was as good a time as any to finally sit down and give it a view, and boy am I glad I chose to do so.

The film's screenplay is relatively straightforward in its method of storytelling, and it's this simplicity that gives the audience an opportunity to insert themselves into the storyline and the characters themselves. It's a familiar tale, the tale of racism and prejudice in the Southern United States. The subject has been tackled on dozens of occasions in cinematic past, but The Help manages to distance itself from its genre predecessors and create something a little bit different. Because the story itself is so simple, we as the viewer are able to focus on the characters, getting to know them on a very personal basis. The screenplay's biggest strength is the completeness of each individual character, from our leads down to our semi-major supporting characters. Each brings something a little bit different to the story and to the screen, and in a way, the film works just as well as a character study as it does a story of overcoming hardship and prejudice. In that sense, director and screenwriter Tate Taylor should be commended and applauded.

Fortunately, we have an all-star cast that manages to live up to the characters Taylor helped craft and create. Stone and Davis are fantastic as our leads, and although Davis has received much of the hype going into the awards season, a lot should be said of Stone's dramatic turn. She shows that she has the ability to bring a bit of range to her acting pedigree, and if she wasn't already on your radar, then you best be keeping your eye out for her in the future. Davis is quite the revelation, and she manage to steal this year's Best Actress award from the likes of Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams. And what can I say about the rest of the film's supporting cast? Bryce Dallas Howard is perfectly evil in her prejudiced role, bringing our main antagonist to life. Spencer, who has to be considered one of the front-runners in this year's Best Supporting Actress race at the Oscars brings a bit of drama and a bit of comedy to her role, making us laugh and cry alongside her all the way through. And I can't begin to say enough about Jessica Chastain, who managed to wow me for the second time in a month with her performance here. The cast truly is phenomenal.

Do I think that The Help is going to make a major splash at this year's Academy Awards? Probably not, although it definitely has a shot at its acting nominations. It's received quite a bit of critical acclaim, but word of mouth has ultimately worked far better for this film since it was released last summer. While it does have its moments where it delves into the sappy and melodramatic, there's enough power from the acting performances to carry this film through to its smile-worthy finale.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: A-
2 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: THE TREE OF LIFE

THE TREE OF LIFE

2011
PG-13


"Tell us a story from before we can remember"
-- R.L.

The Tree of Life is a 2011 drama directed by Terrence Malick that attempts to offer the meaning of life. On the anniversary of his brother's death, an adult Jack O'Brien (Sean Penn) reminisces on his coming-of-age as a young teenager in a Waco, Texas suburb. He remembers what his life was like living with his overbearing and sometimes violent father (Brad Pitt) and his reserved and graceful mother (Jessica Chastain). The young Jack (Hunter McCracken) sees his two very different parents and starts to wonder the kind of person he will ultimately become. The story offers a number of Jack's visions and memories as he recalls the time he lost his youthful innocence and started to become a young man. Interspersed with the story surrounding the O'Brien household are a number of images chronicling the creation of the universe and, more specifically, life on earth.

I first watched The Tree of Life about three weeks ago, and I was so taken aback by the film that I couldn't bring myself to write a review at that time. There were so many thoughts rushing through my mind that I simply could not organize them into a coherent post, so I told myself that I would temporarily forego the review and re-watch the film at a later date. That date was today, my friends, and I think I've pondered long enough about this film. I apologize if this post still proves to be a bit of a rambler, so please bear with me.

I have to start by saying that The Tree of Life is by no means for everyone. Much in the way that the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey is only for a select type of audience, The Tree of Life offers the same type of experience. It's going to cause you to think rather than enjoy, and that's going to turn a lot of viewers away from the film from the start. Instead of bringing an enjoyable piece of entertainment, Malick has offered a more subdued tale that's going to give pause to the audience and force them to think about the meaning of life within the constructs of the images the film is portraying. So, if you're simply looking for a movie to sit back and enjoy, you'll probably want to discontinue reading this review and find something drastically different, like The Adventures of Tintin. And now, for my thoughts about The Tree of Life.

I'd actually like to start with the film's acting because it should prove to be a little more straightforward than the film's screenplay. After watching this film twice, I have to say that I'm shocked that the acting ensemble has not received as much acclaim as it probably deserves. A few critical groups have applauded Chastain, and some have even mentioned Pitt's performance, but for the most part, the film is receiving its accolades as a result of its screenplay and cinematography. I am here to tell you that the acting is just as good, if not better, than the other facets of the film. Chastain, who had a very busy year in 2011, is simply stunning in this one, as are some of the child actors. However, the real cake belongs to Pitt, who turns in one of the finer performances of his career. I think the reason a lot of the acting has been pushed by the wayside is that it is so subtle and subdued that it's not really registering with viewers. And because the film is offering so much more on other levels, it's almost as though the acting in the film is being overshadowed by the film itself. Still, it must be mentioned that our acting ensemble is absolutely terrific.

And now, for the screenplay. I'm going to try to keep this as concise as possible, mostly because I don't want to give away either the events of the film or my own personal thoughts on what it might mean. Essentially, Malick is offering a tale of the meaning of life as told through the eyes of a man remembering his past. There are many potential entry points into the talk of the meaning of life, but The Tree of Life runs with the idea of "nature versus grace." To explain this a little more, I'd like to offer you some of the opening voice-over from the film, as told to us by Chastain's character:

The nuns taught us that there are two ways through life: the way of nature, and the way of grace. We have to choose which one we'll follow. Grace doesn't try to please itself - it accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked; it accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself, and others to please it too. It likes to lord it over them, to have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it, when love is smiling through all things. They taught us that no one who ever loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end.

From the very start, we're being told the basis of Malick's idea of the meaning of life, and the rest of the film serves as a way for him to explain and expand on his idea further. By creating a family atmosphere as the film's centerpiece, he has given the audience a number of characters with which to relate and enjoy. Ultimately, this makes the process of understanding Malick's vision all the easier, but then he decides to throw in some existential pieces of beautifully-crafted cinematography that shows us the origins of the universe. I think this is where a lot of the audience will be lost, but if you're able to power through these sequences, I believe that you'll be better off in the long run in relation to understanding this movie.

As I said towards the beginning of this post, The Tree of Life is not a film that everyone should watch. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey, it's going to take a few viewings to start to understand Malick's direction, and from there, you'll have plenty of time to speculate your own theories and ideas. There's no right answer as to what Malick is trying to convey as I think a lot of it is open to your own interpretation. I personally found a very religious tone throughout the movie, but the person next to me could have a completely different experience. The Tree of Life moves from being a motion picture to a true work of art. I'd even go so far as to say that it is cinematic poetry. As time passes, I'm sure I'll watch this one again and again, if only to further my appreciation for it. If you think you'd like to do the same, then give this one a watch.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: A
1.5 Thumbs Up