No, the Mason jars they are carrying around are not full of water or even vodka. It’s moonshine.

John Hillcoat’s “Lawless” depicts Prohibition-era Franklin County, Virginia, during the Great Depression.

Alcohol selling in the black market was cutthroat—but because it was lucrative, the infamous Bondurant Brothers could not be stopped.

Everyone was cashing in on and benefiting from the alcohol trade—from regular Southern folks like the Bondurants, to cops and gangsters in and around Virginia.

Buyers could be otherwise law-abiding folk who just want a drink or gangsters ready to shoot or cut anyone.

Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) is the most well-rounded character in the film. Agile, wise and with the ability to command respect, he made it so that their travels selling their product was not deadly. Forrest has a distinct perspective on life that viewers can relate to. He often speaks in metaphors about the human condition that one wouldn’t expect to hear from someone so young.

Jack (Shia LaBeouf) is the youngest of the Bondurant brothers and is crippled by his naiveté, which is the root of all the problems that affected their family’s well-oiled machine. Watching LaBeouf play Jack will have you squirming in your seat and shaking your head at the questionable decisions and odd personality he has. Since he’s foolish and a bit charming, watching LaBeouf portray him is enjoyable. He’s an awkward lady charmer trying to run around town in his brother’s oversized shoes. However, LaBeouf’s Southern accent sounds odd at the beginning of the movie. His voice sounds like what he would normally sound like, except imitating a Southern individual. As the movie progresses this fades.

Maggie (Jessica Chastain) is a mysterious woman who shows up at the Bondurant brothers’ popular bar looking for work and a way out of her old life. Chastain portrays her as a soft-spoken and gentle person, but with her elegant mannerisms and expensive clothing the viewer is left wondering why she would have wanted to leave her old life in the first place. However, Maggie’s character could have been more developed. If we had a better picture of her life before she moved to Franklin County she would be more relatable to viewers.

Charley (Guy Pierce), known as “special agent” Rakes, was sent to the small town likely on behalf of gangsters trying to make serious money, too. With little regard for human life and an appetite for fine things, Pierce plays a narcissistic villain with so much personal insecurity, hate and thirst for power that the viewer has no choice but to despise him as much as Jack and Forrest do.

The story touches on issues beyond bootlegging and gangster violence. It’s inundated with racial undertones and portrays women in a less-than-positive light. With overt segregation of African-Americans and whites, and women who are abused by males, it’s very much based on a historical account of Depression era Virginia.

Whether or not gangster Westerns are your thing, this film is worth the $10 it costs to see it. But be warned: bloody violence is gratuitous. The performance by Hardy was moving. Portraying a man who is known as a local legend, he wields an air of invincibility and greatness that Forrest actually possessed. “Lawless” is a must see film before the summer is over.

 Vanessa can be reached at [email protected]