SkimIt
Lawless (opening August 31)
The Details: Based on the novel The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant, itself based on the author's family history, Lawless (rated R) is a Prohibition-era tale of moonshining in the American South starring Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke as the whiskey-distilling Bondurant brothers, Gary Oldman as the local gangster boss and Guy Pearce as the arrogant U.S. Marshal trying to bring them all down. John Hillcoat directs a script written by goth-rock icon (and novelist) Nick Cave.
The Trailer: Booze! Old cars! Men in hats! Machine guns! The trailer shows all the important tropes of the Depression-era gangster film, but filtered through the dust and grime you associate with a western. Despite the southern setting of Franklin County, Virginia, Hillcoat and Cave give the film a distinctly wild west vibe.
The Buzz: This was a fantastic book, and Hillcoat's previous films, The Proposition and the underrated The Road, were excellent. I have high hopes for this stylish-looking film.
