Netflix
In 1934, Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow traveled through the central United States with their gang robbing and killing people. Lee Simmons, Texas Department of Corrections chief convinced Governor Ferguson to hire former Ranger Frank Hamer to track down the criminals. Hamer’s former partner, Benjamin Maney Gault, joined Hamer in the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde.
The Highwaymen is directed by John Lee Hancock and stars Kevin Costner as Frank Hamer and Woody Harrelson as Benjamin Maney Gault. This film has been in development for many years with the project starting back in 2005. Paul Newman and Robert Redford were the original picks to play Hamer and Gault, but that never worked out. Netflix eventually picked up the rights to the film 13 years later and brought on Costner and Harrelson to play the main roles.
Bonnie and Clyde is such an iconic movie with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway playing the notorious duo. The film was released in 1967 and received a few Academy Awards and was among the first 100 films selected into United States National Film Registry. I was curious to see a film from a different point of view other than Bonnie and Clyde’s.
Costner and Harrelson are easily the best thing about this movie because of their great chemistry. They have spent some time apart before they got back together to hunt down Bonnie and Clyde and each one of them is living a different life. Hamer is living more of a successful life while Gault is unemployed and living in hardship. Once they get together to stop to the violent robbing spree of Bonnie and Clyde, I could tell why they were regarded as top Rangers and people would want them for this mission. Costner and Harrelson work well as a team and they understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
The film looks great with a lot of attention to detail and the crew did a fine job making me believe that it was 1934. From the costume designs to the cars involved in the movie, I felt like I was watching a movie from 1934. One thing that I was surprisingly impressed by was the lack of Bonnie and Clyde in the movie. Going into it, I was curious as to how much Bonnie and Clyde would be in the film. They hardly ever showed the two and it wasn’t until the end that I completely saw both of their faces. By doing this, it made it movie about Hamer and Gault instead of Bonnie and Clyde.
For a film that was centered around two former Rangers chasing Bonnie and Clyde, notorious for robbing and killing people, the film lacked action and quickly paced scenes. The few action scenes involve Bonnie and Clyde shooting people or Hamer and Gault chasing them down. Director John Lee Hancock handles the scenes very well with limited cuts to maximize intensity. There is a scene in the middle part of the film where Costner and Harrelson were chasing after Bonnie and Clyde and they entered an open dirt field. The two Rangers got lost in the dust and I liked how Hancock filmed both cars driving around trying to either flee or hunt the others.
The Highwaymen at times is slow but is held together by the great direction from John Lee Hancock as well as the acting. The film is stunning to look at and I appreciated the effort to make this film look believable. It was an interesting story to tell and I enjoyed watching the other side of the story about Bonnie and Clyde. Now it’s time to go back and watch Bonnie and Clyde!
The Highwaymen has a run time of 2 hours 12 minutes and is rated R for some strong violence and bloody images.
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