RAVE - Lawless

This is a cool, moody, prohibition-era movie based on a true story of three brothers from Virginia who produce moonshine, and the new deputy determined to stop them.

It's not without its faults. For example, it was unclear how on earth Chicago - 700 miles from Fairfax County, Virginia - should figure so heavily in this film. According to the story, the bootleggers sold their liquor there, drew their inspiration from the gangsters there, practically commuted there every day. This was the 1930s, so there was no way the roads or the vehicles could have made those journeys possible.

And Gary Oldman, as the Chicago-based top gangster, had a virtually non-existent role. It was almost as though he was contracted to play that role before the story was written, and despite it barely featuring him. It was perversely fitting for Oldman, an Englishman, to take that role however, seeing as Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke, both English, played two of the bootleggers, Forest and Howard Bondurant. To cap the foreign contingent; Guy Pearce, an Australian, played the dastardly deputy Charlie Rakes. And the screenplay was written by another Australian, Nick Cave. Cave the moody musician probably lent much of the story its spare, morose feel.

But forget the inconsistencies. This was a great tale, and one that cast the criminals as heroes, and the lawmen as either dumb hicks, or in the case of Pearce, an affected - he wore scent, and "smelled funny" - bigot and sadist.

Mrs Page reckons this is Oscar-worthy, but I think she may have fallen somewhat under the spell of Forest Bondurant. It's funny how women so often are attracted by gruff-speaking, mono-syllabic, crusty hicks. But I wouldn't advise you to alter your Match.com profiles.

One sidenote: the film featured a hillbilly version of the Velvet Underground song "White light / White Heat", which was I think written by Lou Reed about the use of amphetamine. An inspired prequel to the song, and one of the many reasons Lou Reed is a shadow of the writer and performer he used to be.

Not bad, a traffic report, dating advice, and music history, all rolled up into a movie review.