Lawless takes place at the height of Prohibition in 1931 and is set in Franklin County, Virginia. There, brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke), and Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) run a successful moonshine business from their restaurant (?) and they do so with the cooperation of the local sheriff (Bill Camp). And they aren't the only ones in the illegal liquor business, as many residents in the area run stills. However, things change when a new law enforcement, in the guise of Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), comes to town. Rakes is a violent man who appears to take pleasure in harassing the locals. The Bondurants are forced to get more creative with their business. But, dodging the Prohibition laws isn't the only thing on their minds. Jack attempts to win the affections of Bertha (Mia Wasikowska), a girl from a very religious family. Maggie (Jessica Chastain) comes to Franklin from the city and gets a job at the restaurant (?), and soon catches Forrest's eye. These extracurricular activities don't change the fact that the brothers are in a very dangerous business and that Rakes will stop at nothing to stop them.

Based on a book by family descendant Matt Bondurant, Lawless plays like the country cousin of Boardwalk Empire. We see the impact which Prohibition had on the public and the lengths to which people would go to get alcohol. Set in the early 1930s, we also get a look at what some Americans did to supplement/ create their income during The Great Depression. And we see how the very simple Bondurants were able to make a very good living distributing their moonshine. The story also examines some of the social issues of the time. The brothers were (most likely) the wealthiest family in the area, but this didn't grant them respect from their neighbors, as evidenced by the way that Bertha's father protested her relationship with Jack. In a way, it's very easy to describe Lawless as a cross between Boardwalk Empire and Bonnie and Clyde.

As interesting as Lawless is (again, I'm learning a lot about Prohibition), there is something missing from the movie. Director John Hillcoat has done several things right here. The movie moves along at a nice pace, and doesn't make the mistake of slowing down and attempting to mirror the period, as some historical dramas do. The story contains two very shocking twists, one of which is handled beautifully, as we truly don't see it coming. But, the movie lacks a certain amount of heart. We like the characters (as much as one can like outlaws), but I'm not sure how much we cared for them. There is a certain distance created between the viewer and the film. While I sat at attention, watching every moment of Lawless, I must admit that I was never really "into" the movie.

This could have something to do with some story issues. When the movie begins, the Bondurants already have a fairly successful business. How did they get started? What were they doing before? When Rakes first arrives, he makes threats and actually assaults one of the trio, but it's never made clear why he simply doesn't arrest them at the outset. Yes, this would have made for a short movie, but it would have made more sense. Maggie arrives with no backstory and no explanation as to why she's there, and this isn't explored in the deleted scenes included here, thus, she is criminally underwritten. You may have noticed above that the word "restaurant" was always followed by (?). This is because I was never sure what was going on in the eatery -- Was it a full-fledged diner or just a front for the moonshine operation? I also had an issue with Rakes' wardrobe. Why is he dressed like an insane butler? I get that he's supposed to be dapper and that he clothes are meant to stand out from the dirty, haggard residents of Franklin, but he looks like a super-villain.

While Lawless is far from perfect, it's still certainly watchable thanks to the skilled cast. Hardy and LaBeouf juxtapose one another perfectly, as Forrest is the picture of stoicism while Jack is rambunctious. Pearce may look weird, but he does a great job of making us hate him. Chastain continues her recent run of likable characters. Gary Oldman has an odd extended cameo in the film and I would have liked to have seen more of his character. Fans of films which profile criminals will certainly find something to like in this movie which offers a different kind of 1930s gangster.

Lawless shows that moonshine has various uses on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. The picture is very sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source material. As one would expect, the colors are slightly muted to reflect the environment, but some brighter tones look fine. The image is never overly dark or bright. The depth is fairly good and is most notable during the final shoot-out, when the men are separated. The level of detail is good as well. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.4 Mbps. This is one of those tracks which I hate because I can't tell if the problem lies with the Blu-ray Disc or with me. The characters in the film have thick accents and they mumble, especially Forrest. Thus, they are difficult to understand at times. With that in mind, I still had to turn on the subtitles and paly the movie at a volume which was higher than normal in order to ensure that I was hearing everything. Even with characters like Maggie, who spoke plainly, the dialogue seemed to be lower in the mix than I would have liked. Outside of that, the action scenes provide nice stereo and surround effects, especially those which feature cars traveling down dirt roads, as we get good stereo separation and some nice individual sounds. The gunfights and a few explosions bring in the subwoofer.

The Lawless Blu-ray Disc contains several extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director John Hillcoat and Author Matt Bondurant. The Disc contains six DELETED SCENES which run about 8 minutes. Most of these are merely deleted moments from scenes in the film or scenes which show an event of which we were already aware. In other words, there's nothing truly new here. "Lawless: The True Story of the Wettest County in the World" (22 minutes) is a documentary of sorts which delves further into the real-life tale which is behind the film. The piece contains comments from the cast and filmmakers, along with Matt Bondurant, as well as some period photos and newsreels. This does shed some more light on what the Bondurant brothers were really like. "Franklin County, Virginia: Then & Now" (6 minutes) is a shorter documentary which focuses strictly on the topic at hand, as it explores how bootlegging came to be in that area of the country through interviews with local historians. "The Story of the Bondurant Family" (13 minutes) is another interview with Matt Bondurant who talks us through some photos from the period and a discusses how he researched his book. The final extra is the MUSIC VIDEO for the song "Midnight Run" by Willie Nelson.