Character Relationship Map: Lawless

Characters

• Jack Bondurant (played by Shia LaBeouf) — protagonist

  The youngest Bondurant brother helps run the family's moonshine business but initially considers abandoning it after Charlie Rakes's intimidation. He courts Bertha Minnix, reveals the secret operation...

• Forrest Bondurant (played by Tom Hardy) — protagonist

  The middle Bondurant brother leads the family's successful moonshine operation and refuses Charlie Rakes's demand for protection money. After surviving an attack, he protects Maggie Beauford, falls in...

• Floyd Banner (played by Gary Oldman) — supporting

  A prominent rum-runner, Floyd Banner kills two federal agents who try to arrest him and later spares Jack Bondurant after learning his identity. He respects the Bondurant brothers' resistance to Charl...

• Charlie Rakes (played by Guy Pearce) — supporting

  The newly appointed U.S. Marshal uses intimidation and corruption to demand profits from Franklin County's bootleggers. He beats Jack Bondurant, kills Cricket Pate, attacks the Bondurants at the bridg...

• Mason Wardell (played by Tim Tolin) — supporting

  The corrupt state's attorney accompanies Charlie Rakes when Rakes demands payments from the county's bootleggers. Wardell later arranges for Prohibition agents to round up the local operators, and aft...

• Howard Bondurant (played by Jason Clarke) — supporting

  The eldest Bondurant brother helps Forrest Bondurant run the moonshine business and responds violently when the family is attacked. He helps find and kill the men responsible, supports Forrest and Jac...

• Sheriff Hodges (played by Bill Camp) — minor

  The county sheriff is present when Charlie Rakes and Mason Wardell pressure the bootleggers, but later warns the Bondurant brothers about the blockade and planned arrests. At the bridge, he shoots Rak...

• Maggie Beauford (played by Jessica Chastain) — supporting

  A financially struggling dancer, Maggie Beauford is hired by Forrest Bondurant as a waitress. After being assaulted, she conceals the attack while Forrest recovers, later stays in his spare room, deve...

• Cricket Pate (played by Dane DeHaan) — supporting

  Cricket Pate is Jack Bondurant's mechanically gifted friend and the technician behind the brothers' stills. He helps transport their liquor and maintain the operation, but Charlie Rakes captures him d...

• Bertha Minnix (played by Mia Wasikowska) — supporting

  The daughter of the local Brethren preacher, Bertha Minnix becomes the object of Jack Bondurant's affection after he embarrasses himself at church. She accompanies Jack to the secret operation, is tak...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Mason Wardell → Charlie Rakes (Alliance Corrupt Associates) — Wardell supports Rakes's pressure campaign through his role as state's attorney and organizes further enforcement against bootleggers.

  Wardell accompanies Rakes as they demand a cut of profits from the county's bootleggers, and later arranges a roundup for Prohibition agents.

• Floyd Banner → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Opponents) — Banner's conduct and stated respect place him in opposition to Rakes's efforts to control bootlegging, though the plot does not describe a direct confrontation between them.

  Banner respects the Bondurants for standing against Rakes, and his crew ambushes Jack while he is carrying liquor across the county line.

• Sheriff Hodges → Howard Bondurant (Alliance Warns And Supports) — Hodges's warning and intervention support the brothers' resistance to Rakes's violence.

  Hodges warns the Bondurant brothers of the blockade and roundup, and at the bridge shoots Rakes to stop him from executing Forrest.

• Sheriff Hodges → Jack Bondurant (Alliance Warns And Supports) — His warning informs Jack of the danger facing the family, and his intervention contributes to the bridge confrontation.

  Hodges warns the Bondurants about the blockade and planned arrests, and later shoots Rakes during the bridge confrontation.

• Sheriff Hodges → Forrest Bondurant (Alliance Warns And Protects) — Hodges gives the brothers warning of the coming danger and intervenes when Forrest is threatened.

  Hodges warns the Bondurants that Rakes has set up a bridge blockade and that Wardell is arranging a roundup; at the bridge he shoots Rakes to halt the...

• Sheriff Hodges → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Institutional Opponents) — Hodges intervenes against Rakes's violence during the final confrontation.

  At the bridge, Hodges shoots Rakes in the leg in an attempt to stop him from executing Forrest.

• Howard Bondurant → Mason Wardell (Conflict Political Opponents) — Wardell's actions place Howard and the family operation under threat of arrest.

  Wardell accompanies Rakes during the demand for bootlegging profits and later arranges for agents to round up the county's bootleggers.

• Jack Bondurant → Mason Wardell (Conflict Political Opponents) — Wardell's corrupt enforcement campaign threatens Jack's family business.

  Wardell accompanies Rakes when they demand payments from all bootleggers, including the Bondurants; he later arranges a countywide roundup.

• Forrest Bondurant → Mason Wardell (Conflict Political Opponents) — Wardell uses his public office to support the pressure campaign and planned arrests that threaten Forrest's business.

  Wardell accompanies Rakes when they demand a cut from the county's bootleggers, including Forrest; Wardell later arranges a roundup of bootleggers.

• Cricket Pate → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Murderer And Victim) — Rakes kills Cricket during the police attack on the secret operation.

  Rakes captures Cricket during the ambush and snaps his neck.

• Howard Bondurant → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Arch Enemy) — Howard's conflict with Rakes escalates through the attack on the brothers' operation and ends in Rakes's death.

  Rakes attacks the Bondurants and kills Cricket; at the bridge Howard follows the wounded Rakes with Jack, and they kill him.

• Jack Bondurant → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Arch Enemy) — Rakes's intimidation and violence turn Jack into a direct opponent who ultimately helps end Rakes's life.

  Rakes beats Jack at Cricket's house, later wounds him at the bridge, and Jack helps kill Rakes there.

• Forrest Bondurant → Charlie Rakes (Conflict Arch Enemy) — Forrest's refusal to pay protection money drives their escalating conflict, culminating in Rakes's attempt to execute him.

  Rakes demands a cut of Forrest's profits, and Forrest refuses; Rakes later attacks the brothers and shoots Forrest at the bridge.

• Howard Bondurant → Floyd Banner (Alliance Business Partners) — Their connection is a business relationship through Banner's regular purchases from the brothers.

  Banner becomes a regular client of the Bondurant brothers after sparing Jack.

• Forrest Bondurant → Floyd Banner (Alliance Business Partners) — Banner's regular purchases support the expansion of Forrest's moonshine business.

  The plot says Banner becomes a regular client of the brothers, whose profits help them establish larger stills.

Story Analysis

The Bondurant brothers resist corrupt law enforcement, endure personal losses, and eventually leave bootlegging behind.

Plot Progression

1. Bootlegging Under Pressure — The Bondurant brothers run a successful moonshine business, while Jack witnesses Floyd Banner kill two federal agents. Rakes and Wardell demand a share of the county's bootlegging profits, but Forrest...
2. Violence Comes Home — Rakes beats Jack, and two men attack Forrest and Maggie. Jack and Cricket encounter Banner, who spares Jack and reveals the identity of Forrest's assailants.
3. Revenge and Fragile Romance — Forrest and Howard kill the men responsible for the attack. Forrest persuades Maggie to stay, and their relationship becomes romantic as the brothers' business expands.
4. The Still and the Bridge — Rakes's ambush at the secret still ends with Cricket's death and Bertha being taken home. After Hodges's warning, the brothers confront Rakes at the bridge, where Jack and Howard kill him.
5. A Quiet Aftermath — With Prohibition over, Wardell is arrested and the brothers marry and move into legitimate work. At a later reunion, Forrest falls into a frozen lake and dies of pneumonia.