5. The Idea of a Spin-Off
It won't happen, but the idea of a film dedicated Gary Oldman's gangster character is one of the most irresistible ideas I think have ever occurred to me. Because although he plays a major part in the advertising for the film, including a key role in more than one pre-release trailer, and a poster that suggested he was among the top-billed players, Oldman is no more than a glorified cameo presence in Lawless. He swoops in, menacing and effusing that anti-hero charisma he exudes even in his most moral and God-fearing roles and showing everyone exactly what sort of characters and performances gangster films should be made of. Floyd Banner is an aspirational figure in the film, offering Labeouf's youngest Bondurant a glimpse at a better, more powerful life to be found through money-making by any means - the cool sort of gangster that made Goodfellas and Casino such great watches before the genre all got very post-modern and self-referential. And I can't shake the idea that a film dedicated to Floyd Banner would atone for the fact that Oldman missed out on the role of Dillinger in Public Enemies - a role that Johnny Depp did well in, but which Gary Oldman was made for, like De Niro and Capone and Pacino and Tony Montana. Even the thought of that imagined sequel is enough to make my enjoyment of Oldman's fleeting appearances in Lawless all the more pronounced, and I can only hope someone, somewhere has the sense to make my desires come true.