Lawless

In terms of setting, Lawless is not a Western, yet it contains many staples of the genre that make such a dissociation merely a technicality.

The ultraviolent outlaw thriller from director John Hillcoat (The Road), which is based on a true story, contains enough compelling characters and breathtaking visuals to overcome its Western clichés, such as bar brawls, gangster shootouts and damsels in distress.

The film stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) as the arrogant alcoholic Forrest Bondurant, whose gang of bootleggers includes his brothers, Jack (Shia LaBeouf) and Howard (Jason Clarke).

They operate a lucrative moonshine operation in the mountains of western Virginia during Prohibition, which catches the eye of a corrupt deputy (Guy Pearce) and a rival gangster (Gary Oldman) who will go to great lengths to shut it down. The motivations vary among the quick-tempered adversaries and their henchmen, eventually threatening Forrest’s girlfriend (Jessica Chastain) and causing Jack to grow up beyond his years.

The film’s evocative re-creation of its rural setting during the days of Prohibition is a credit to Hillcoat and his filmmaking team, including cinematographer Benoit Delhomme (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), whose exquisite landscapes include rolling pastures and covered bridges that offer a visual contrast to the brutality in the story.

The idyllic setting provides the backdrop for a film with a nonchalant approach to violence that’s both shocking and appropriate (such as an actual tar-and-feather sequence, for example). There’s a surplus of blood and bullets that doesn’t feel gratuitous. Still, it’s not for weak stomachs.

Hardy, who resembles a young Kevin Costner in appearance, leads a standout cast that includes menacing turns by Pearce and Oldman, as well as the most mature role to date for LaBeouf.

The script by musician Nick Cave (The Proposition) is based on the novel The Wettest County in the World by author Matt Bondurant, a descendant of the main characters in the story. It benefits from its historical context, even if individual scenes have more suspense than the movie as a whole, which builds to an inevitable final showdown.

Lawless combines a deliberate pace with a forceful attitude, yet it sometimes lacks the depth that its characters command.

Rated R, 115 minutes.