ARTS AND CULTURE D
r. Matt Bondurant’s 2008 book, The Wettest County in the World, is about to make the leap to the big screen this summer with an all-star cast. The story is set in Prohibitionera Virginia and is inspired by Bondurant’s grandfather and great-uncles, the Bondurant Boys, who ran moonshine during the Great Depression. Forrest, the middle brother, is fierce but also the consummate businessman. Howard, the oldest brother, is besieged The Wettest County in the World, a novel by the horrors he witnessed set in Prohibition-era Virginia, is inspired in the Great War. Jack, the by Matt Bondurant’s grandfather and great-uncles. youngest, has a taste for luxury and a dream to get out of Franklin County, Va. The men struggle to keep their illegal business afloat in the face of the Great Depression and a drought. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a good film, and I’m excited to see it. It’s pretty bizarre because they’re using the same names, so my grandfather is going to be up there on the screen. It’s a very surreal experience,” Bondurant said. The movie, titled Lawless, will star Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman and Mia Wasikowska. It is directed by John Hillcoat, who also directed The Road, and is set for release in August. While awaiting the movie premiere, Bondurant, assistant professor of creative writing and literature, published his third novel. The Night Swimmer is set in a small town on the southern coast of Ireland, an isolated place frequented only by fishermen and the occasional group of bird-watchers. Fred and Elly Bulkington, newly arrived from Vermont after winning a pub in a contest,
10
utdallas.edu
encounter a wild, strange land shaped by the pounding storms of the North Atlantic, as well as the native resistance to strangers. As Fred revels in the life of a new pub owner, Elly ferries to a nearby island where the locals refer to anyone not born there as a “blow-in.” To the disbelief of the islanders, Elly pushes herself through Lawless, the film based on Bondurant’s novel, stars Jason Clarke as her devotion Howard, Tom Hardy as Forrest and Shia LaBeouf as Jack. The film to open-water is slated for release in August. swimming. In the process, she crosses unseen boundaries that drive her into the heart of the island’s troubles—the mysterious tragedy that shrouds its inhabitants and the dangerous feud between an enigmatic farmer and a powerful clan that has no use for outsiders. In researching his latest book, Bondurant competed in the Beginish Island Swim, a four-mile race around an island just off the western coast of Ireland. “I was a competitive swimmer in my youth and water polo player in college, and over the last 15 years I’ve been an itinerant triathlete and Masters swimmer,” said Bondurant. “During the swim I got my goggles knocked off by a wave, climbed through heavy seaweed, got lost, nearly puked, and had a few run-ins with some aquatic wildlife. It was a chaotic, exhilarating, occasionally terrifying, and overall extremely satisfying experience.” Bondurant took second place in the wetsuit division, swimming the four miles in one hour and 34 minutes. -CL
Richard Foreman Jr., SMPSP
Film Based on Prof’s Second Book Set for Release; Third Novel Published
