We here in the third row have been closely following the production of Lawless – previously known as The Wettest County, previously known as The Wettest County in the World – since it was announced a few years ago and Ryan Gosling was still attached. While Gosling was replaced a long time ago, I’m convinced that Tom Hardy was a much better choice for the role of Forrest Bondurant. This year, I’m thinking, is going to be a very generous one for Hardy, whose stock is going to skyrocket after the latest Batman entry and now this.

The last time I wrote about Lawless, I spent the whole post bitching about the terrible title change. I think I said something like it conjured “images of Gerard Butler or some other abnormally beefy star kicking ass through some bland action flick.” While I still feel that way, the first trailer was enough to convince me that, despite the change to a bland title, this movie was going to kick some stylish period drama ass.

A film directed by John Hillcoat from a screenplay adaptation by Nick Cave always needs to be seen. It doesn’t hurt that the cast includes not only Hardy, but Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, and Mia Wasikowska.

If you haven’t read the book yet – and I highly recommend you do – you can buy it used off Amazon for $2.59. Do it. It’s really, really, really good. Plus, for the most part, it’s a true story.

Lawless hits theaters on August 29, 2012.