Lawless (2012)

Lawless parents guide

Moderate sex and nudity, and brutal violence, about what an R should carry.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

None noted

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

Language

Strong

Frequent strong profanity or slurs.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is Lawless scary?

Only a little. Lawless has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is Lawless?

Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is Lawless rated, and is it OK for kids?

Moderate sex and nudity, brutal violence, and frequent strong language. The R is earned, so not for kids.

What is Lawless about?

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

Cast and crew

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Lawless is on our Mob and gangsters, True crime, Crime on Kanopy and Western lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “funny but not stupid, under two hours”

Lists with the same feel: Most violent.