Lawless: The Movie

Lawless is based upon the true story of the BonDurant family out in the Country on the east coast of the U.S. who were makers of "White Lightning" which is a euphemism for a very strong alcoholic beverage. It appears like a swig (sip) of the stuff made you feel like you had been hit with lightning. So, that's why they called it "White Lightning". At that time during Prohibition alcoholic beverages were illegal. So, making, transporting and selling "White Lightning" was a little like people growing Marijuana in all 50 states for the last 50 years or so and selling it. So, in some ways I think this is why this movie was made because of many of the similarities of the two eras. That being the beginning of the Great Depression and now being the middle of the Great Recession. And during both eras people  trying to survive bad times any way they could. And then and now many people die(d) doing it.

This is a very violent movie and not for the faint of heart. But, from what my parents and grandparents told me, this was exactly how it really was. Shia Lebeouf is an incredible actor and he shows his acting ability in the making of this movie. All the actors in this movie did a really incredible job in showing what people were really like then.

My father told me a story of how he and his older brother made an alcoholic beverage made of potatoes during prohibition in their bathtub to sell to their high school friends for a party. They made quite a bit of money this way. The only problem was that they made it too strong (too high an alcohol content) and everyone passed out at the party so they were really glad no one died or went blind. (This is a true story of prohibition regarding High School Students). What I find the funniest thing about this is no one in my Dad's family drinks alcohol because everyone is allergic to it. My grandfather, my Dad, both my uncles etc. and even I 2 generations later am also somewhat allergic to alcohol. So, it's funny they made this knowing they couldn't drink it without real problems.