Posted on 04/14/2019 6:04:14 AM PDT by Rummyfan
After reading a couple of favorable reviews of The Highwaymen at blogs that I am usually given to trust, I took a flyer on watching the movie – streaming video, of course, on my home computer. I can count the number of movies that I have made a deliberate effort to see in a theater over the last couple of years on the fingers of one hand and … well, wow. Just wow. Kevin Costner isn’t any Kenneth Branagh, or even a John Wayne – but he can act, especially given an intelligent and nuanced script, spare and understated direction, and production values not dependent on flashy special effects. Woody Harrelson may personally be nuttier than squirrel poop – but he also can act. Like Jimmy Stewart did before them – they are better and more interesting playing older, more grizzled characters then they were as smooth-faced young studs. So – The Highwaymen is a retelling of the hunt for and final ambush of gangsters Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, glamorized beyond practically all recognition in the 1968 movie.
There were a good few roving criminal gangs in the 1920ies and 30ies, enabled by the ubiquity of motor cars, resentments of banks in a time of Depression and hardship, and a national media inclined – as they have been practically forever – to make popular folk heroes out of ordinary criminals. The Highwaymen, instead of glorifying a pair of vicious and possibly psychotic losers (who hardly appear at all, save at a distance), follows the two former Texas Rangers, Frank Hamer and Maney Gault on a long and dusty road trip – down empty country roads, through migrant camps and small towns in the Depression-era middle America: a buddy-cop and road-trip movie. Touchingly, the two of them are not quite sure they are up to it. In real life, Hamer and Gault were in their fifties at the time they were tagged to hunt the Barrow gang, survivors of hard and violent times; the old ‘Wild West’ lingered in Texas well into the 20th century. There is some small humor made from the fact that two-way police radios and phone-tapping were a new concept in law enforcement for a pair of guys who first made their bones in the horseback-and-Winchester-rifle days.
What I appreciated most, though – was how flawlessly the scenery where The Highwaymen was filmed backed up the story – yes, that was genuinely Texas; piney woods and dusty plains, with the sky arching overhead. The lonely little gas stations, the streets of Dallas where the Barrows and the Parkers lived, grimy interiors of roadhouses and coffee shops, the migrant camps and tourist cabins – all perfect, right down to the signage and light fixtures. (This was nothing like that horrible Texas Rising mini-series – filmed entirely in Durango, Mexico, in which the concept of scenic authenticity was flung down and danced upon.) The final ambush of Barrow and Parker was actually filmed at the spot where it happened, which must have creeped out the film crew and actors considerably.
All and all – a good two hours spent with interesting people: Hamer had a long and eventful history in law enforcement, which rightfully should be good for another half a dozen movies. In 1939, for instance, he and 49 other retired Texas Rangers offered their services to King George VI, to protect England against the Nazis. (A local Llano author, Elisabeth G. Wolf worked this into a supernatural alt-history fantasy.) Hamer’s wife, Gladys Johnson Sims (seen briefly in the opening scenes of The Highwaymen) should have her own movie, at that: she was at the center of the last great Texas family feud in which the principals personally took up weapons. This feud was kicked into high gear when she shot her ex-husband as he tried to force the issue of custodial visitation with their young daughters. In the town square of Snyder, Texas. In front of witnesses.
Finally, the high quality of The Highwaymen, in acting and directing talent and production values, is additional proof that cinematic creativity has moved on to new venues. Generators with a ready audience – Amazon, Netflix and the like – are creating original, interesting content. Far more interesting content than what’s nommed for the Academy Awards this year; discuss as you wish.
Three BARs were recovered from B&C’s death car. There are lists of their weapons at a number of websites.
Hubby and I watched it and after it ended my husband blurted out: "That was a good movie." I agree, it was a very well done piece.
Is it streaming on Roku or Tubi?
I saw it and was impressed that it kinda conveyed something conservative though I couldn’t put my finger on it. It seemed like a Kevin was the picture of a Republican — solid, stately, quiet — and Woody a Democrat — wacky, emotional, over stated. (And I’m not saying Kevin was Bugs and Woody was Daffy, but it did cross my mind.) But they worked together for a common purpose, which is the betterment of the country, that you would think both Republican and Democrat had done so, at least in the past. Yep, it was a good movie and Kevin letting Woody drive the car in the end is almost symbolic of a decent humanity toward each other — or if I could return to my political analogy — letting the Democrat run the government in a democracy of the people.
The more I think about it the movie seemed to be well thought out — for example, we never see the Bonnie’s face except at the end. That wasn’t an accident, but a good directional choice. There was a lot to make it appealing and giving it some depth.
Spot on. Best feature length film I’ve seen in ages. And as close to historic accuracy as anything that isn’t a dry documentary. Even the apparent size and youth of the two killers (Clyde was 5’ 7” and Bonnie was tiny next to him) were accurately portrayed. And Lord, would I ever love to be able to drive a 1933 Ford V8!
Yes I agree...it is a great movie and the scenery is awesome. I saw it on Netflix at a friend’s place and want to see it again...
Got it in my “to watch list”. I watched “The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot” with Sam Elliott, last weekend on DVD from Netflix. One of the trailers they offered on the disk was “Bone Tomahawk” with Kurt Russell. Hadn’t heard of it before. It’s from 2015, but the trailer was enough to peak my interest. It’s supposed to be pretty gruesome, so I’m just wondering if I watch it while I eat my brunch, or afterwards.
Good Movie.
“Texas! By Gawd!”
John Wesley Hardin just before his capture by Texas Rangers.
Netflix via Roku I believe. We’ll worth a watch!
“The more I think about it the movie seemed to be well thought out — for example, we never see the Bonnie’s face except at the end. That wasn’t an accident...”
The movie wanted to avoid romanicizing Bonnie & Clyde. I think if they’d showed any more of the 2 than they did the movie would have lost its point oF view. I was struck by how much the locals in North Texas closed ranks when law enforcement showed up. It reminded me of the depiction of the James-Younger Gang in “The Long Riders”
I watched last night and enjoyed. It was impossible to miss the deliberate exclusion of Bonnie and Clyde’s on-camera personas until the very end of the movie.
In 1990s Germany, someone wrote a psychological history of Adolf Hitler, the publication of which the German government outlawed. The fear was that anything that might lessen the hatred of Hitler was unacceptable. It was the “to know all is to forgive all” notion. Eventually the government relented and the work was published.
In the case of Bonnie and Clyde, the message seems to have been binary. Either you hate them or you love them, and the latter need not apply. They couldn’t very well have cut out the popular sentiment at the time, so Bonnie and Clyde would relegated to being kept out of sight.
Yeah, I haven’t seen the James Gang movie, but people did close ranks — and they romanticized them almost like Robin Hood. Crazy how that happens and it’s scary what they would do to you if you were the law without weapons.
I actually prefer the original content coming out on streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime. I think the content is better because the producers of it don't necessarily have to worry about box office or TV ratings. This frees them up to focus on the content rather than dumb it down for the masses in order to maximize audience.
I definitely made the right choice cutting my cable and relying only on my Roku to deliver content.
Colt Monitor
Never heard of it.
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