FTRC Film Club goes all Lawless
This week, our FTRC Film Club crew checked out star-studded gangster movie Lawless. Let’s see what they thought of it…
Spoilers ahead!
CHRIS M ‘A great film. Visually glorious with a powerhouse performance from Hardy and a creepy return to form for Guy Pearce. Even Shia LaBeouf shows he can actually act!’
‘It was ultra-violent but there was enough subtle comedy to lighten the mood.
‘I didn’t find it slow at all, the drawn out nature of things made what happened all the more powerful.’
‘I really liked it; it’s my second favourite film this year.’
CELINE ‘Fantastic cast, poor screenplay! I was very bored.’
‘Shia’s alright, but I think the only time I did not want to slap him in the face was when he was “courting” when sitting in the car. The rest of the time, he was just a bit meh!’
‘For me the main problem with the film is that it’s too patchy, a bit like your grandpa trying to remember bits and pieces of his youth.’
‘The cast were very good for what they were given to do. But come on, a film with both Hardy and Chastain should be a far better. I hope they meet again soon!’
LYNN ‘Lawless is definitely one of my Top Ten films of the year. I absolutely love it and everyone in it.’
‘I’ve never been a fan of Shia laBeouf, in fact I have actively disliked him but he impressed me greatly in Lawless. Not only does he give a proper acting performance, but he even had chemistry with Mia Wasikowska.’
‘The cast were superb. I loved how Hardy and Pearce brought their own ideas to how they should portray their characters and Hillcoat and Cave allowed them to bring it to fruition.’
ELENA ‘I didn’t really know what to expect from this film and it did take me a little while to get into it but I left feeling greatly satisfied.’
‘I’m not sure where or if I’ve seen Shia LaBoeuf before but I found his character to have depth so I think he was good!’
‘I thought the cast was a good fit, everyone seemed to work well together and I didn’t expect the almost passive-aggressiveness that Tom Hardy managed to pull off. Guy Pearce was outstanding and I enjoyed seeing Gary Oldman too.’
CHRIS R ‘I really loved it. I love that era, so I hoped I would!’
‘Tom Hardy was great, as was Jessica Chastain. And I was surprised with Shia LaBoeuf, he showed he can actually act.’
‘I think Jessica Chastain is one of the best actresses around at the moment and I thought her character was fantastic in the film. Mia Wasikowska too.’
‘It’s in my top 10 films of the year.’
CHRIS E ‘A good film, however the story development was a bit bland. The acting talent was commendable, with a special mention to Guy Pearce but I feel some weren’t used to their full potential (Gary Oldman being the prime example).’
‘The big names do well interacting together and on their own, developing their own characters. It’s just how they are used in the story that I’m reserved about.’
‘As for the women, they weren’t not given too much on-screen importance but at the same time, I think that’s just how the adapted material plays out.’
CALUM ‘I thought while watching that I’d like to know more about Maggie, but now I think it works that we know very little, particularly in terms of her relationship to Forrest.’
‘I found the lead performances boring in general, it was the occasional appearance of Mia Wasikowska and Gary Oldman that kept me interested. Very believable performances from those two.’
‘For me it was SO NEARLY there… obviously there was a decent budget but I would have liked them to have gone the last mile with authenticity.’
‘A fun watch, but I won’t remember it.’
MARNY ‘I found the first half of this film so boring. It took me ages to get into it! However, the second half was much better. Very gripping.’
‘I was quite taken back by the violence; I had to close my eyes at some points!’
‘I think the cast was great, but the storyline wasn’t as strong as it should have been.’
‘It’s definitely worth a watch, just be prepared for first half of the movie to be rather slow. The visual effects were stunning and very well done.’
YASMIN ‘A great movie! I was very impressed by Shia LaBoeuf and loved how horrible Guy Pearce was – he was so scary and menacing and weird. Those eyebrows! That mad haircut!’
‘I do wish we’d seen more of Gary Oldman though, I thought he’d turn up somehow near the end. I wish we’d also known more about Chastain’s character backstory too.’
‘I knew that as Nick Cave wrote the script it would be violent. But I am deeply grateful we were spared some things.’
I didn’t mind the slowness. I wasn’t expecting an action movie, and the pace helped me feel the world was credible. I do feel they could have made better use of the time and developed backstories a tiny bit more.’
JAMES ‘I really wasn’t too impressed at all.’
‘It was all perfectly authentic, and looked very nice but it lacked in narrative drive and a few characters were underwritten. By the time the inevitable climax happened, I didn’t care who lived or died.’
‘I don’t think I’ll ever take Shia LaBoeuf seriously as an actor, I just don’t think he is any good! He wasn’t too bad here, but the role would have been elevated further by a better actor.’
‘The film was slow from the start, and never really got going. There was no reason to empathise with any of the characters, Gary Oldman’s character just came and went, and the two female characters were underwritten.’
‘I just thought the script was quite poor.’
SUZAN ‘Lawless should have had a law against making it! I found it rather violent and boring.’
‘The acting is the only good thing about the film. There was something lacking…I just didn’t really enjoy it.’
JACK ‘As someone who really isn’t a fan of period crime dramas, I liked it, which must mean it’s quite good. It’s not John Hillcoat’s best work but it is still very strong.’
MIKE ‘I doubt LaBoeuf will ever been taken seriously after the mainstream success that stripped him of any credibility. However, this was his best role to date and he did a fairly good job.’
‘I think the only reason some would find it too extreme or violent is that we barely see any good old blood and violence movies anymore.’
‘I agree it was slow, but that was the style and aim of the film. It didn’t focus on a strong narrative, but was more of a character study of family, honour and coming of age.’
PIPPA ‘Loved it. I really enjoy films set in that era.’
‘I was amazed at the violence, but I’m glad that it wasn’t watered down to get a 15 rating.’
‘I was thoroughly impressed with everyone’s acting, but I didn’t think the ladies’ parts were fully explained. I was slightly confused as to why they were there in parts and just didn’t think they had enough depth.’
‘The end was a bit of an anti climax; they could have done a lot more with it.’
But just what is this Film Club malarkey all about? It’s simples, really. Each week we send a pair of cinema tix (ODEON or Cineworld, whichever is best) to 10 of our most active Facebook/Twitter followers. We put the film we’re going to see to the vote, and the winning film is the one we all go to see. Then we all sit around on Facebook on the Sunday night (6.30) and chat about it. Magic. Sound like something you want to get involved with? Drop us a line at twitter.com/f_t_r_c or on Facebook at on.fb.me/d4dMv8
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