Hollywood is very fond of filming a gangster movie, especially when it comes to the time of the Great Depression and Prohibition of the 30s of the last century. There are failed tapes, there are not very successful ones, but there are simply amazing ones. This was exactly what was released in 2012 and presented at the Cannes Film Festival "The Most Drunkest District in the World." Actors who played the main and secondary roles in the film, almost all eminent and star, which could not but affect the quality of the film. As often happens, it was the strong cast that made the next gangster tape really powerful.
Book and film "The Most Drunken County in the World"
The crime drama came out in the USA and the rest of the world under the name “Lawless”, but in Russia, as often happens, the translation was adapted in a completely different way. Most likely, in the Russian version of the title there was a reference to Matt Bondurant's book “The Wetest County in the World”, according to which director John Hillcoat made his film. The plot of both the book and, accordingly, the film is based on real events.
Matt Bondurant described the story of his grandfather and his brothers. The events described in the book really happened in the 30s in the southern United States. In the days of Prohibition, an underground illegal alcohol business called bootlegging flourished incredibly. Whiskey, for example, could be driven from anything. In fact, the three brothers of Bonduart were bootleggers who tried to keep their business, despite the confrontation with competitors and corrupt policemen.
Screenwriter Nick Cave tried to make the plot of the film as close as possible to the book, so it’s noticeable what special atmosphere reigns in the film “The Most Drunkest District in the World”. The actors also gave all the best, each character is definitely seasoned in the spirit of his time.
Castling
The beginning of work on a film about the times of the Great Depression coincided with the global financial crisis in 2009, so the creators had to postpone shooting the picture "The Most Drunkest District in the World". Actors who were announced at the beginning of the project, for one reason or another, did not remain in the project. It was planned the participation of such stars as James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Emmy Adams and Scarlett Johansson, who could play the main character - Maggie Buford. Of the originally declared composition, only Shia Lababe remained. However, celebrities who left the project were replaced by no less famous and talented actors.
Main character
The film “The Most Drunkest County in the World” is a story about three brothers. Despite the fact that the hero of Shayya Labaffa Jack is a younger brother, his story clearly stands in the foreground. At the beginning of the film, he is still a little naive young man, who dreams of winning the heart of the girl, Berta Minniks, with the help of bootlegging, played by the young and promising Mia Vasikowska, who became famous for her role in Alice in Wonderland.
Jack is rather irresponsible in his family business, without due seriousness, because this business is just a way to get rich for him. Throughout history, it is noticeable how the character morally grows and changes, his consciousness breaks. In the final, he is already more serious and strong. Jack becomes a true representative of the family business. According to rumors, Labaf, in order to fully get used to the image, often used whiskey on the set and could sort out so much that his partner Vasikovska even wanted to leave the project due to the inappropriate behavior of the actor. For the same reason, the actor had clashes with screen brother Tom Hardy.
Who is really in charge?
The middle brother, Forrest Bondurant, was played by the popular and talented Tom Hardy, known for the films “Beginning” and “Warrior”. Due to the fact that at the same time as he was shooting, he was preparing for a role in The Dark Knight, for which he was gaining muscle mass, in the film his character turned out to be much more powerful than the book one. But Hardy conveyed the character of the average Bondurant very accurately: pedantic, straightforward, gloomy, tough, able to solve all important issues. It was Forrest who was the real head of the family, the true leader. In the town, everyone is afraid and respected, from the sheriff to the local gangster. Maggie Buford had a great influence on him, with the advent of which he can be said to come to life.
And the older brother Howard (played by Jason Clark) often went into binges, and indeed, was rather irresponsible, preferring to go with the flow. Having gone through alcohol, this bumpkin liked to scratch his fists. But Clark’s game was so liked by the producers who created the film “The Most Drunkest County in the World” that they sent their recommendations regarding the actor to the director of The Great Gatsby, Baz Lurman.
Other roles
However, not only such stars as Labaff, Hardy and Clark can boast of the crime drama "The Most Drunkest County in the World." Actors acting in secondary roles also picked up no less venerable and talented. The ingenious Gary Oldman played the gangster Floyd Benner in his unique manner. And the Australian actor Guy Pearce, known for the films "The King Speaks!" and "Remember," embodied on the screen the role of agent Charles Rakes. And the role of Maggie went to actress Jessica Chastain, whose track record includes such high-profile projects as “Servant” and “Interstellar”. Jack's friend, Cricket Pate, was played by Dane Dehaan.