“Lawless,” directed by John Hillcoat and starring Shia LeBeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy opened in theatres on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The film is set in Franklin County, Va. during the Prohibition era. Based on the true story of the Bondurant brothers: Howard (Jason Clarke), Forrest (Hardy) and Jack (LeBeouf) and their fight to keep their bootlegging business afloat against the crooked authorities led by hitman Charlie Rakes (Pearce).

The film is a hit-and-miss. If you have a penchant for history, then you can respect the fact that while the events of the story may have been exaggerated, the film is pretty accurate in terms of customs, buildings, clothing, weaponry and vehicles. However, the writing of the script seems dry. The romance of the film is kept to a minimum. And while LeBeouf’s escapades in courting the preacher’s daughter are charming and cute, the romance between Forrest and Maggie is a gag-worthy bit. The whole affair between them is quite frankly an insult to not only one’s intelligence, but to women as well. The climax being a pointless and cheap topless scene, followed by Maggie’s advances with a line that is in the spirit of “So, are we gonna do this, or what?”

While Shia LeBeouf gives a decent enough performance, the acting of Tom Hardy as Forrest is an underscore. Hardy, who you may recognize as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” doesn’t handle his performance that well. Throughout the film he does an okay job only to be immediately upstaged by everyone else, being overcast by Pearce, LeBeouf and Oldman.

By far the best part of the film is Pearce’s performance as Rakes. He plays the role of a dainty “city boy,” who turns out to be a menacing sociopath. At first, you want to laugh at him, but when you see him lose his temper, you see him for the true bad guy he really is. Pearce handles the role of the villain in such a way that he can be genuinely hated by viewers, but thats exactly what makes a villainous character.

The music, while fitting is something forgettable, but the cinematography for “Lawless” is amazing. Every angle of the camera, every trick with the lighting, every gunshot is well planned and it can be duly appreciated by viewers.

So where does “Lawless” stand? It certainly won’t win any Academy Awards, and while it had its down-sides, they were outweighed by the good. It’s nothing spectacular or thought-provoking, but it is entertaining, and worth the price of a $10 movie ticket.

Grade: B