Review: Lawless entertains with simplicity, charm, and blood

"Cars that transform into giant metal men, you say? I believe we can break them."

 Grade: A

"They don't make'em like they used to."

There's something to that simple statement that speaks as much to our yearning for the trappings of our youth as it does to our yearning the simplicity of those trappings.

Typically, when that saying is applied to movies, it's used an excuse to gripe that a new film is nowhere near as good as an older film remembered through rose-colored memories. Occasionally, it's used to point out an achievement in cinematic storytelling that harkens back to a "simpler", bygone era of filmmaking that put character and narrative above bombast and spectacle.

Director John Hillcoat and Screenwriter Nick Cave's Lawless, an adaptation of Northern Virginia-born writer Matt Bondurant's The Wettest County on Earth", is a superb example of the second circumstance.

Bringing together a cast that could rival a Nolan production, and borrowing a few of his repertory players to boot, Hillcoat and Cave,  craft an affecting, if simple narrative about the Bondurant brothers, three siblings who dominated the moonshine trade during the late 1920's in the isolated Appalachain-esque town of Franklin, Virginia. Tom Hardy, fresh off his lauded performance as the megaphone-voiced Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, plays the eldest Bondurant, Forrest, a reticent, broad shouldered bootlegger who evokes Karl Childers as much as he does Batman's latest heavy, whose is as devoted to the sale and procurement of white lightning as he is the cultivation of his family's legend of invincibility. Shia LaBeouf harness all that qualities that make him the prickly, smart ass you probably love to hate in a role as the youngest Bondurant, Jack, who has his sights set on being a big time gangster in the vein of Al Capone or Floyd Banner (Gotham's own Commissioner Gordon, Gary Oldman, appearing to have finally caught up with Bane). Jason Clarke rounds out the trio as middle brother Howard, a shell-shocked WWI vet who loves the consumption of the bush whiskey a bit more than the rest of his kin.

The Bondurants maintain an iron grip on the distribution in a town where everybody seems to have still, mostly through fear, intimidation, (sounds familiar, I just can't place it) and the propagation of their legend in and beyond Franklin. As the limp hand of Prohibition spreads to Franklin, the Bondurants find themselves forced to face giving up their enterprise to the likes of new Commonwealth attorney Mason Wardell and his foppish right hand Special Agent Charlie Rake (Guy Pearce, clearly reveling in Rake's snide villainy), a dapper hitman well versed in "The Chicago Way". Refusing to back down and undermine their legend and legacy, The Bondurants face enemies from within and beyond Franklin that threaten to change the peace of their kingdom by spilling as much, or more blood, than necessary. Suffice to say, shootings, beatings, and tar and featherings abound.

Lawless sounds terribly simple on paper, and in truth, it is, but the simplicity of narrative is what allowed Cave and Hillcoat to breathe such great life into Lawless' greatest achievements: its characters and the performances. Cave and Hillcoat, both responsible for 2005's phenomenal The Proposition (which also featured Pearce), have crafted some amazing and memorable characters in the Bondurant brothers and their opposition in the form of Charlie Rake. It is rare to come out of the theater today and hold on to the memory of the characters on screen over the spectacle of set pieces or left-field plot twists, but Cave, Hillcoat, and their cast have done an exceptional job in achieving that rarity. Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, and Guy Pearce especially excel at building great performances out of characters that were likely amazing on the page. Hardy harnesses his physicality to greater effect here than he did as Bane, making the audience believe his invincible with a few choice actions and even fewer words. In fact, if Lawless was screened right before Dark Knight Rises, I would be much more inclined to believe in the legend of Bane than I did after listening to Alfred Pennyworth's warning. Shia LaBeouf plays the role he has always played as that young punk whose appetite is bigger but not faster than his mouth. yet, in Lawless, his antics have greater context as he lives in the shadow of two brothers whose legend he knows he may never be able to live up to. And, Guy Pearce delivers one of the most memorable gangland villains to hit the screen in a while with his preening, snakish performance that makes the audience laugh at rakes as much as they cringe at his brutality. Even the extended cameos in lawless bear the fruit of great performances as Gary Oldman steps back on the rwrong side of the road with menace and wryness in his role as Banner.

Because Lawless is such a uncomplicated narrative, the performances shine especially bright, but Cave and Hillcoat still manage to integrate a few welcome surprises, all of which a character-based and surprisingly logical despite appearing mythic in nature. Nothing makes this more evident than the closing scenes that focus on Forrest, a man who is defined by an outsized legend. Yet, Cave and Hillcoat wrap things in such a way that will make it hard for many in the audience to restrain an awe-filled smile. In many ways, that is Lawless' most unique and endearing quality. It takes a story built on equal parts legend and fact and weaves them into a narrative that manages to make audiences believe that these characters could ably embody the proportions of the myths built around them. It is also a film that makes you like these characters more than they deserve to  be liked. In achieving both tasks, Lawless recalls Brian DePalma's The Untouchables, a movie from my youth that I remember fondly for its great characters and, hindsight being 20-20, simple but effective narrative. Which goes to show that, with the right amount of craft, care and attention to character and narrative, they can make'em just like the used to, if not better.

In-Between Observations:

• Dane Dehaan plays Shia LaBeouf's "sidekick" with as much nuance as he brought to his role as would be world destroyer in Chronicle. Definitely, one to watch.
• Jessica Chastain also does a great job as a Chicago girl looking for peace in the woods of Franklin and brings a quiet dignity to her role that few gangster dames can cop to.
• Lawless manages to wrap up a plot pint in less than ten minutes that FX's Sons Anarchy could not wrap up in almost ten episodes. Ten minutes of screen time vs. ten hours. One point for movies.
• Bane's deadliest weapon is not fear or a gas mask, it's a pair of brass knuckles. Trust me.

Review - Chronicle

Grade: A

Yang: Strong performances by Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan are the highlight of this clever spin on the people with powers narrative. Stunning practical effects and top-notch destruction don't hurt either.

Yin: Found footage format, shaky cam effect, and city-scale carnage recall less than fond memories of Cloverfield, but doesn’t diminish the effectiveness of

In Between: The feeling of having one’s teeth yanked out by telekinesis must be the most unpleasant experience imaginable.

Dear Warner Brothers,

Re: Live-action Akira remake

Authorize a ten-dollar per suit budget. See Josh Trank’s Chronicle. Drop this whitewashed Akira remake business and save your money for some other trite comic book movie or remake.

Thanks,
Fans of Common Sense and Good Taste

To say Chronicle is one of the best movies about superhumans of the current era of superhero blockbusters is probably the most hyperbolic of overstatements possible, but not by much. Not since M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable—remember that movie from the brief period where Shyamalan was respectable—has there been a film about people with powers that is as believable and affecting as first-time feature director Josh Trank’s Chronicle. In short, Chronicle puts on a clinic in how to make super-powered beings relatable, believable, and interesting. Marvel, DC, and any other publisher or film studio in the business of selling the dreams superpowers in four colors or on the silver screen, take note. Take copious notes.

At first glance, Chronicle seems to be simply aping the current trend of found footage filmmaking—and, indeed, this does contribute to some of the few flaws in the film, which is the overly-expository nature of the narrative and the ever-irritating shaky-cam effect—but Trank uses this technique to great effect as it speaks directly to a generation that is beyond comfortable with documenting their every thought and footstep. In Chronicle, HD handycams follow three Seattle teens--the moody, abused Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan); his cousin, the philosophical, good-natured Matt Garetty (Alex Russell); and their new friend, goofy, easygoing political hopeful Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan). After dragging the camera-happy Andrew to his first rave, Matt and Steve discover a gaping mile-deep hole in an empty field that just screams, “Come on in. It’s safe.” In a clear case of teens being brilliant, the three investigate and find a glowing structure inside that delivers nosebleeds and superpowers at no extra cost. The three emerge with burgeoning telekinetic powers that they promptly misuse for garden-variety mischief and tomfoolery. As their powers grow stronger than they imagined, evolving to include the ability for flight, the three are faced with the reality of Ben Parker’s famous adage about power and responsibility, particularly as the tortured Andrew discovers the upper limits of his power. What results is a clever examination of the corrupting influence of power, the effect of environment, and, oddly, the strength of friendship that is rivaled only by anime classic, Akira.

What makes Chronicle so effective is that it is not bound to any pre-existing material—aside from a climax that’s a almost note-for-note rip of Akira’s climax--or comic book dogma. Yes, the concept of “with great power comes great responsibility” surfaces, but there’s no wise man to guide Andrew, Matt, and Steve. There’s no higher purpose. 80% of the runtime is devoted to the characters engaging in full on wish fulfillment, and Chronicle is better for it because, truth be told, these characters react to getting powers the way most people would. Chronicle also isn’t handicapped by adherence to any current or past comic series, and, thus, is not required to hit any narrative predetermined narrative beats or ensure that characters look or act according to a decades-old character model. This freedom allows Trank and screenwriter Max Landis to craft a narrative with deeper characters and more tangible consequence than half of comic-based movies released in the last five years. Trank takes ample advantage of this freedom, as the film peels the layers back on a character who would rarely be the focus of a traditional superhero narrative, Andrew. Chronicle is unequivocally Andrew’s story, and his response to receiving powers is far more believable than the arc of similarly put-upon geek loner Peter Parker.

A character like Andrew could have descended into a cartoon if not for the grounded direction and Dane DeHaan’s strong performance. DeHaan gives Andrew an consistent sense of perpetual discomfort and anxiety rooted in the abuse Andrew suffers at home. This unease is well-layered thanks to DeHaan’s mostly restrained performance, as Andrew mostly avoids delving into the over-the-top megalomania that paints similar characters. DeHaan’s performance is ably balanced by, the ever-reliable, Michael B. Jordan and Alex Russell’s performances. Jordan brings an infectious exuberance to his role as the big man on campus who is constantly geeking about his new abilities. It’ a bit of a stretch to see his character become so close to Andrew and Matt so quick because no history is established, but damned if Jordan doesn’t sell it, especially in one crucial scene that packs a solid wallop. Russell flies under the radar, especially in the presence of Jordan and DeHaan, as Andrew’s concerned cousin and the anchor and moral compass of the group, but he too gets a true moment to shine in the film’s climax that proves that Chronicle should be mentioned in same breath as X-Men: First Class.

Where this film differs from something like First Class is that the friendship between Andrew, Matt and Steve seems real. When Charles and Erik met in First Class, there was a requisite tension between the two that prevented them from ever being close friends, even before their split. In Chronicle, there’s a similar tension, mostly based on Andrew’s home life, but it doesn’t dominate the interactions between the three. The tension doesn't truly surface significantly until late in the film because more time and care is spent developing these characters friendship—even when the three get a bit sappy, they are still believable close—a narrative approach far more common in manga and anime than western comics. That care really pays off in the end, and, thanks to the quality of Russell, Jordan, and DeHaan’s performances, there’s never a moment second that the payoffs don’t feel earned.

In addition to great performances and a solid narrative, Chronicle delivers some of the most “authentic” displays of superpowers on screen in sometime. Chronicle doesn’t have the benefit of the audience willingly suspending disbelief because they know the characters in advance. Instead, director Trank earns the suspension of disbelief with mostly practical effects and some exhilarating scenes of the guys in flight—logically, they dress in down coats and ski pants because, wouldn’t you know, it’s frigid in the upper layers of our atmosphere—that rival, and maybe surpass, flight scenes from Superman Returns. Admittedly, the action is occasionally obscured due to the found footage format, but generally, Trank uses the format skillfully to make the action far more realistic than the average superhero flick. Between the great action, strong performances, and affecting narrative, surely Hollywood and the comic industry will soon be clamoring to replicate the formula, but they’ll likely fail to match the sublime combination of narrative and character that makes Chronicle one of the best ‘real-world’ superhuman flicks to date.