Well, this is a curious bit of marketing from The Weinstein Company for John Hillcoat's "Lawless." Although, considering the wonky campaign for "The Road," this is becoming par for the course for Hillcoat's films.
MTV has unveiled an infographic guide to the guns used in the film by brothers Forrest and Howard Bondurant (Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke) and sleazy special agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce). We suppose the angle here is to sell the pic as a rootin' tootin' shoot 'em up — which it is, sort of — but we honestly don't recall the characters ever regarding their guns as more than just the necessary tools of the dirty trade of bootlegging. Certainly, Howard didn't go out of his way to marvel about the specifics of MDL MK-4 .38. Not to mention that the blistering evil of Charlie Rakes has less to do with his gun than with other means of persuasion he has at his disposal. This whole thing seems a bit odd for "Lawless," which is more about the struggle for control in the fading days of prohibition, but we suppose trying to encapsulate that into a handy visual guide is a bit more difficult.
Anyway, take a look at it below. Co-starring Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Gary Oldman, "Lawless" opens on August 29th.
These posters are a great idea. Here in today's South, as then, the moonshine crowd is also a shootin' crowd. And back in the day, guns were part of farm life–not just a part of a crime story. Didn't General Patton (from Wise, VA, a few counties west of Franklin County where this story takes place) admonish a journalist for not knowing the difference in a pearl handled versus an ivory handled revolver? Detail matters.
This and the future posters speak to the level of detail and historic accuracy that the John Hillcoat team strives for in their films–props, costumes, locations, language. Can't wait to see this! Bringing back character driven stories with awesome cinematography and acting. Enough of the big budget CGI shows…that's what video games are for.