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Lawless (film)
Lawless is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by John Hillcoat. The screenplay
by Australian singer-screenwriter Nick Cave is based on Matt Bondurant's historical novel The
Wettest County in the World. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman,
Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Guy Pearce.
The film is about the violent conflict between three bootlegging brothers–Forrest, Howard,
and Jack Bondurant –and the ruthless Deputy Charley Rakes and his men, who try
to shut down the brothers' Prohibition-era moonshine business after Forrest refuses
to pay the cops off. The film was in development for about three years before being produced.
It screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was theatrically released on August 29, 2012.
 Production 
Writer Matt Bondurant wrote the historical novel The Wettest County in the World,
based on the Prohibition-era bootlegging activities of his grandfather Jack Bondurant
and his grand-uncles Forrest and Howard. Producers Douglas Wick
and Lucy Fisher optioned the book in 2008 and sent it to director John Hillcoat.
Hillcoat later commented,
"[Bootlegging] sort of drew [the Bondurants] into this crazy kind of world of corruption
and lawlessness ironically, but then mostly they survived, they got through it all
and actually went on to have businesses and children.
And traditionally the gangster film teaches us that we've got to pay for our sins.
Usually the gangster is shot down in a blaze of glory and doesn't get up again."Hillcoat
and screenwriter Nick Cave, who had worked together on the Western film The Proposition,
were attracted to the story by the success of the Bondurants. Hillcoat also said,
"we also loved the idea that it sort of touched on the whole immortality that a lot of these guys
start to feel when they do survive so many strange experiences." The first actor
to be cast was Shia LaBeouf as Jack, the youngest Bondurant brother. James Franco was attached
to play Howard and Ryan Gosling was attached to play Forrest; Amy Adams
and Scarlett Johansson were also attached to the project.
Originally titled The Wettest County in The World like the book, the film's title was changed
to The Promised Land. Although Hillcoat intended to begin shooting in February 2010,
in January the project was reported to have fallen apart due to financing problems.
Only LaBeouf remained with the project. He said that after he saw Bronson, "I went home
and wrote Tom [Hardy] a letter saying I was a fan. He sent me a script, and I sent him Lawless.
He called me back and said, 'This is fucking amazing.
Cinematographer Benoît Delhomme recommended Jessica Chastain to Hillcoat. Chastain said,
"I am a big fan of The Proposition. I hadn't even read the script, but I told [Hillcoat],
'If you cast me,
I'll do it.' I approach every role in terms of: 'Have I done this before? Is it something I'm
repeating?' Lawless offered a new opportunity." By December 2010, Hardy and Chastain were reported
to have joined the project. It was then being financed by Michael Benaroya of Benaroya Pictures
and Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures. Jason Clarke and Dane DeHaan were cast in January 2011.
Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, and Mia Wasikowska joined the cast in February 2011. According to Cave,
"a lot of the truly brutal stuff did not make it through into the film. In the book,
you get lulled by the beautiful lyricism of the writing, then suddenly you are slapped in the face
by a graphic description of a killing. I tried to be true to that as much as I could."
He also said the filmmakers "tried to stay as true to the original story as possible", adding
"we kind of changed aspects of the personality and temperament of Rakes
to get [Pearce] involved." Before Pearce's casting, "Rakes, the character Rakes,
was very much like the character in the book. He was a nasty country cop. We made him a city cop,
gave him his disturbed sexuality and all the rest of it," Cave said.
Pearce created the hairstyle worn by Rakes in the film.
Lawless was filmed early 2011 in various locations near Atlanta, Georgia, including Newnan,
Grantville, Haralson, LaGrange, Carroll County's McIntosh Park,
and the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge near Gay. The cast lived in apartments in Peachtree City
for three months during production, and Hillcoat screened dailies for the cast every weekend.
Hillcoat and Delhomme consulted with cinematographers Roger Deakins
and Harris Savides on digital cinematography. They chose
to use the Arri Alexa digital camera system for Lawless, and Delhomme always used two cameras
during filming. In March 2011, Momentum Pictures
and its parent company Alliance Films acquired the U.K. and Canadian distribution rights.
In May 2011, the Weinstein Company bought the U.S. distribution rights, with plans
for a wide release. In March 2012, the title was changed to Lawless. Cave scored the film
with Warren Ellis. Cave said
Release
Lawless screened In Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on May 19
and received a nearly 10-minute standing ovation. The film was theatrically released in the U.S.
on Wednesday, August 29, 2012,
as The Weinstein Company hoped that good word of mouth would be built up
for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Audiences polled
by the market research firm CinemaScore gave Lawless a B+ grade on average.
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