Unspoiled Reviews - The Highwaymen
Serial killers, Texas Rangers, Kevin Costner, and Woody Harrelson. With a start like that, this film was built for success, but could it live up to the hype around it?
Read on to find out.
I had seen the adverts of this every time I signed into Netflix for almost a week, so when my girlfriend decided that she wanted to watch something off the 'Trending Now' list, this seemed like an obvious choice. I know a bit about the story of Bonnie and Clyde, from my own interest in serial killers and history, but knew very little about the story of those who attempted to capture the pair.
Before we being, I'm going to go off on a short (but relevant) tangent for a minute. I'm not sure what it is, but serial killer documentaries seem to have a special place in society. I have watched a large number of them in the past, and the sudden surge of popular documentaries about the Ted Bundy murders, the kidnapping of Madeline McCann, and Michael Jackson, it was slightly refreshing to see a film about serial killers in which they are the minor characters in the narrative.
Anyway, onto the film.
As with all my reviews, I'll not spoil the plot here (although a quick google of the real event this is based off will cover most of the story) but will touch on a couple of point here, so if you want to keep it all a secret then scroll down until you see the Woody Harrelson holding a photo, you won't miss it!
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...there is a moment which felt like time had stopped as the actors connected, which I think is one of the best bits of Netflix's movie exploits I've ever seen...
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The plot of this film, although based off historic events, did play it a little fast and loose with some of the characters. They played around with Bonnie and Clyde a little, and I'm fairly sure that the detectives which hunted them down spent quite as much time having awkward and mildly hilarious action scenes of chasing children and fights in a bar toilet.
That being said, I think that the plot was very entertaining, and kept me interested all the way through. The comedy added some relief from what could otherwise have been a very dark and morbid film. I think the writers did a fantastic job on this script, which worked great with the fantastic acting. But more on that below.
When talking about the acting in this film, it would be a mistake if I only focussed on the stars of the piece. The whole film was filled with great acting, from John Carroll Lynch (playing Lee Simmons)and Kathy Bates (playing Ma Ferguson) playing serious characters with some entertaining dialogue, Emily Brobst and Edward Bossert playing the infamous Bonnie and Clyde superbly, to Luke Loveless (playing Bottle Boy) who played off Costner and Harrelson amazingly well! Everyone involved did a great job, and really added a sense of realism to the whole piece.
The two stars, Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson, need no introduction to their work. They are household names, and rightly so. In this, the pair of them play off each other fantastically, bringing to life the characters in such a believable way, you almost forget that they hadn't been working together hunting criminals for their entire lives!
The mixture of Costner's almost continuous sense of gravity and seriousness, combined with Harrelson's comedic delivery was brilliant, and really helped to establish the dynamic nature of the world of the highwaymen. Each of them were fantastic on their own, and the combination of the pair of them was a superb casting choice.
Well done!
As well as this, I need to single out William Sadler for his performance as Henry Barrow. Although his part was fairly small in the grand scheme of things, I needed to single him out because of one moment in one scene. The scene between Sadler and Costner was one which really stuck out in my mind. I won't go into the scene itself here, but the context, and emotional message of the whole scene was absolutely astounding. In this scene, there is a moment which felt like time had stopped as the actors connected, which I think is one of the best bits of Netflix's movie exploits I've ever seen.
I've seen William Sadler in a few different things in the past, but most of those performances haven't stood out to me particularly, but this performance is definitely one of the best I've ever seen from him.
The production itself was great and realistic, from the costume and set design bringing you back to the 1930s, the brilliant music of Thomas Newman, and the minimal reliance on CGI and special effects made the whole piece come alive.
The entire production combined brought the audience on a journey into the past, and really kept us there for the entire length of the film. Everyone involved should be really proud of their work!
All in all, if you have not seen this yet, you really should! It is really worth a watch!
Until next time,
Tim
Plot: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇
Performance: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇
Overall: ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇ ✇