History Film / Lawless

* SpiritualSuccessor: This movie shares a lot of tropes with ''Film/TheProposition'', which was also directed by Hillcoat, written by Cave, scored by Cave and Ellis, and featured Guy Pearce as a law-enforcing criminal named Charlie. Most importantly, both are about three outlaw brothers.

* AmbitionIsEvil: Played with. Jack's ambition is not a bad thing in itself, but it causes him to do stupid things that nearly ruin them all, so it's more like "Ambiton is Stupid if you don't have the competence to pull it off."

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Forrest is the head of the family.
** TheLancer: Jack is the main character and the idea man of the operation.
** TheBigGuy: Howard is the largest brother and frequently called upon when heads need cracking. Although Forrest is pretty big, too, still carrying most of his [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises Bane]] muscle.
** TheSmartGuy: Cricket is the engineer of the operation, as well as handicapped, getting double smart guy points.
** TheChick: Maggie runs the family's legitimate business and is Forrest's love interest

''Lawless'' is a 2012 American crime drama film set during the Prohibition era and following the exploits of the Bondurants, a family of bootleggers. Their steady work of selling moonshine in rural Virginia (with the compliance of the local sheriff) is complicated by two things; the arrival of Charley Rakes, an agent from the corrupt DA, who demands a cut of the local bootleggers' profits, and the youngest brother's ambition causing them to leave their comfort zone and take bigger risks.

''Lawless'' is a 2012 American crime drama film set during the Prohibition era and following the exploits of the Bondurants, a family of bootleggers. It is TheFilmOfTheBook ''The Wettest Country in the World'', written by Matt Bondurant (the grandson and great nephew of the three brothers). Their steady work of selling moonshine in rural Virginia (with the compliance of the local sheriff) is complicated by two things; the arrival of Charley Rakes, an agent from the corrupt DA, who demands a cut of the local bootleggers' profits, and the youngest brother's ambition causing them to leave their comfort zone and take bigger risks.

It stars Creator/TomHardy as Forrest Bondurant, and Creator/JasonClarke and Creator/ShiaLaBeouf as his brothers Howard and Jack, with Creator/GuyPearce as a CorruptCop trying to bring them down. Creator/MiaWasikowska, Creator/JessicaChastain, Creator/DaneDeHaan, Creator/NoahTaylor and Creator/GaryOldman round out the cast. It was directed by John Hillcoat, with a screenplay by rock star Music/NickCave, and a soundtrack by Cave and his bandmate, Warren Ellis.

->"Indestructible? Do you mean immortal? Sheriff, do you have any idea what a Thompson submachine gun will do to 'immortal'?"

[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Lawless_1730.jpg]]

''Lawless'' is a 2012 film set during the Prohibition era, and following the exploits of the Bondurants, a family of bootleggers. It is TheFilmOfTheBook ''The Wettest Country in the World'', written by Matt Bondurant (the grandson and great nephew of the three brothers). Their steady work of selling moonshine in rural Virginia (with the compliance of the local sheriff) is complicated by two things; the arrival of Charley Rakes, an agent from the corrupt DA, who demands a cut of the local bootleggers' profits, and the youngest brother's ambition causing them to leave their comfort zone and take bigger risks.

!Tropes appearing in ''Lawless:''

* BiggerBad: Mason Wardell.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Rakes. He is always immaculately dressed and ostentatiously groomed, and wears some unspecified scent. Calling Jack a "peach" when they first met added to this. All of this leads Jack, and presumably others, to assume Rakes is a "nance." [[BerserkButton Rakes doesn't take it well when he finds out]]. It's never confirmed definitively; he is seen getting dressed after presumably spending the night with a black woman, but her obvious distress suggests that whatever he did to her wasn't ordinary sex.

* DirtyCop: Played with; on one end of the spectrum, there's SmugSnake Rakes who embodies every contemptible aspect of this trope. On the other end there's the local sheriff, who is up to his neck in the moonshine business, but is generally a good guy who sees it as harmless. He does his best to stop Rakes doing too much damage, and is (along with everyone else,) absolutely disgusted when [[spoiler: Rakes murders Cricket]], and [[spoiler: refuses to back Rakes up in the big shootout at the end]].

* OhCrap : Rakes doesn't seem to be worried by [[spoiler: all the county's bootleggers]] showing up but as soon as [[spoiler: Forrest gets back up]] he freaks out and tries to run away

* MookHorrorShow: Rakes' goons get treated to a short one when [[CrazyAwesome Howard]] starts howling and stalking them through the still.

* CampStraight: He is always immaculately dressed and ostentatiously groomed, and wears some unspecified scent. Calling Jack a "peach" when they first met added to this. [[BerserkButton Rakes doesn't take it well when he finds out]]. It's never confirmed definitively; he is seen getting dressed after presumably spending the night with a black woman, but her obvious distress suggests that whatever he did to her wasn't ordinary sex.

* CampGay: The locals assume Rakes is this, as he is always immaculately dressed and ostentatiously groomed, and wears some unspecified scent. Calling Jack a "peach" when they first met added to this. [[BerserkButton Rakes doesn't take it well when he finds out]]. It's never confirmed definitively; he is seen getting dressed after presumably spending the night with a black woman, but her obvious distress suggests that whatever he did to her wasn't ordinary sex.

* TheAlcoholic: Naturally, nearly everyone drinks in this movie, but Howard deserves special mention. Comes somewhat to a head when he's off in the hills drinking with his buddies instead of backing up Forrest [[spoiler: on the night Forrest gets his throat cut.]]

It stars Creator/TomHardy as Forrest Bondurant, and Creator/JasonClarke and Creator/ShiaLaBeouf as his brothers Howard and Jack, with Creator/GuyPearce as a CorruptCop trying to bring them down. Creator/MiaWasikowska, Creator/JessicaChastain, Dane [=DeHaan=], Creator/NoahTaylor and Creator/GaryOldman round out the cast. It was directed by John Hillcoat, with a screenplay by rock star Music/NickCave, and a soundtrack by Cave and his bandmate, Warren Ellis.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This movie shares a lot of tropes with ''Film/TheProposition'', which was also directed by Hillcoat, written by Cave, scored by Cave and Ellis, and featured Guy Pearce as a law-enforcing criminal named Charlie.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This movie shares a lot of tropes with ''TheProposition'', which was also directed by Hillcoat, written by Cave, scored by Cave and Ellis, and featured Guy Pearce as a law-enforcing criminal named Charlie.

** TheBigGuy: Howard is the largest brother and frequently called upon when heads need cracking. Although Forrest is pretty big, too, still carrying most of his [[TheDarkKnightRises Bane]] muscle.

* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: Jack certainly thinks so when his deal with Chicago gangster [[GaryOldman Floyd Banner]] starts making them a lot more money.

* YouHaveFailedMe: Banner smashes a mook in the head with a {{shovel|Strike}} for almost getting him involved in a {{blood feud}}, but the man turns up alive a few scenes later with a nasty bruise.