Lawless

Guardian“A handsome-looking period picture...” But it's basically an empty exercise in macho-sentimental violence in which we are expected to root for the good ol' boys, as they mumble, shoot, punch and stab. The final flurry of self-adoring nostalgia is borderline-nauseating...

Evening Standard“Certainly has its moments, yet lacks the tension of a real classic...” A natural performance from LaBeouf (and a tantalisingly unreadable one from Oldman), can’t hide the film’s blandly conservative core. Compare it to period shockers like Bonnie and Clyde or McCabe & Mrs Miller and you realise what’s missing...

Little White Lies“Freewheeling but episodic, punchy but never quite persuasive...” You can’t lose yourself in it as you could disappear into the shimmering haze of The Proposition. Lawless is a film of abundant potentiality, then – strange and edgy and flawed...

The Arts Desk“Visually sleek but dramatically patchy...” It smacks of a story that has been compressed into a conventional length. Lawless provides adequate, good-looking entertainment but lacks fire in its belly and flesh on its bones...

Time Out film“Not a nuanced tale...” Hillcoat and Cave tell this tale from a perspective of blind fondness, like elderly relatives romanticising their ancestors around the fireplace. It makes for an oddly comfy experience considering the death and hurt at the film's core...

Total Film “Stylish and savage, but nothing you haven’t seen before...” Yet Hillcoat still refreshes gangster tropes with lovely, rust-hued visuals courtesy of cinematographer Benoit Delhomme, and Cave and Warren Ellis’ chimera soundtrack, combining bluegrass and punk, adds verve...

Empire“An uneven mix of impressively executed, violent clichés...” Rooting around for something substantive to say about both the Bondurants’ slippery place in history and the rat-a-tat-tat indulgences of the genre, Lawless sells us half-strength moonshine...