'Lawless' Opens Up In Theaters To Distinctly Mixed Reviews

Lawless' Cannes Film Festival success saw the film, starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman, among others, enjoy a modicum of good praise. However, it's not quite had the same connection with critics, with it expected to be in all cinemas worldwide by September 7th.

It's a mixed bag of reviews, with the film's generally cold atmosphere being taken either way by most, some finding the emotion within it, whilst others seem to find it somewhat deadening. The positives first: Hollywood.com writes "Lawless is a beautiful film that's violent as hell, striking in a way only unfiltered Americana could be." Time Out meanwhile, says "It makes for an oddly comfy experience considering the death and hurt at the film's core." Movieline adds "It's a film that finds delicate beauty in the image of someone bleeding out in the snow, and turns a drunken, impulsive visit to church service into an overwhelming sensory experience."

However, a lot of the bigger name critics are those against the flick; the New York Times criticises Hardy, saying "Mr. Hardy mostly grunts, growls and ribbits, occasionally interrupting his angry bullfrog impersonation to deliver down-home bromides that make him sound like Toby Keith choking on a Cheeto." The Village Voice, meanwhile, comments "The narrative often seems at odds with the director's pictorialism, trudging when it should be striding toward the climax, isolating the performers on their marks when everything depends on taut blood-ties interconnection." It's looking like a bit of a curio then, and it casts a shadow on how it might do at the Box Office.