Kevin Costner Tracked Down Bonnie and Clyde in This Underrated Neo-Western Thriller

It’s onerous to overstate how considerably the 1967 crime film traditional Bonnie & Clyde changed the state of American filmmaking. With its hanging visuals, inclusion of graphic sexual and violent content material, emphasis on younger protagonists, and surprisingly nihilistic themes, the movie served because the gateway to the “New Hollywood” period of the Seventies. The movie continues to be cited as a traditional to this present day, with many comparable runaway crime thrillers using the format that director Arthur Penn had perfected. The movie grew so iconic that there was inherent trepidation about ever revisiting the fabric. Nevertheless, the 2019 neo-Western The Highwaymen re-examined the Bonnie & Clyde story from the angle of the lawmen tasked with bringing them to justice.

The challenge was actually bold, and simply might have felt like an affordable technique of cashing in on the legacy of one of many best films of all time. Whereas director John Lee Hancock had directed spectacular movies just like the inspirational sports activities drama The Rookie and the McDonald’s origin story The Founder, nothing in his resume recommended he was fitted to an investigative thriller. Nevertheless, a terrific efficiency from Kevin Costner helped rework The Highwaymen right into a refreshingly old school historic style thriller.

What Is ‘The Highwaymen’ About?

Set two years after Bonnie Parker (Emily Brobst) and Clyde Barrow (Edward Bossert) first initiated their reign of terror, The Highwaymen explores the convoluted efforts by the FBI and native authorities to bring the criminals to justice. The FBI is solely ill-equipped to cope with criminals who don’t play by the foundations, and depart no indication as to why they’re committing their egregious acts of violence. Nevertheless, the Texas Division of Corrections Chief Lee Simmons (John Caroll Lynch) begins to suspect that the case could be finest dealt with by lawmen who already know the Texas space fairly nicely. With the help of Governor Ma Ferguson (Kathy Bates), Simmons hires the previous Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (Costner) and his former associate Benjamin Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson) to tackle the harmful mission.

The Highwaymen is at its finest when it is specializing in Costner and Harrelson’s chemistry. Whereas Hamer and Gault have labored on many missions collectively all through their respective careers, chasing down such younger and agile fugitives forces them to query their expertise. Costner and Harrelson do an ideal job at displaying the loyalty that the 2 have developed for one another, despite the fact that it’s been a few years since they labored collectively final; Hamer nonetheless feels that he owes it to Gault’s household to see him introduced residence safely, and Gault feels the identical means. Whereas the energy of their chemistry provides the movie a heartwarming high quality, it doesn’t threat being too saccharine. Costner is commonly not given sufficient credit score for a way humorous he might be, and the 2 characters commerce quite a lot of humorous jabs at one another, turning the story into an odd buddy comedy at points.

Whereas approaching the Bonnie & Clyde story from the angle of the authorities could look like a boring method, Costner and Harrelson are nonetheless taking part in underdogs in The Highwaymen. The FBI representatives doubt that these two older males are able to dealing with a case that has befuddled their high brokers, and steadily lampoon their old school sleuthing expertise. Nevertheless, it’s the information of the realm and knack for choosing up latent particulars that makes Gault and Hamer completely fitted to the case. Though there are just a few thrilling gun fights, The Highwaymen is commonly at its most profitable when leaning into its investigative neo-noir elements.

‘The Highwaymen’ Tackles the Legacy of Bonnie & Clyde

A Bonnie & Clyde remake would have been unlikely to be a hit, however The Highwaymen succeeds by telling the story from a contemporary perspective. Bonnie and Clyde represented a youthful aptitude for anarchy that was spurned by a resentment of the established order. Their crime spree was geared toward making use of media sensationalism to justify their violence. Whereas Hamer and Gault are nonetheless a part of the legislation, additionally they acknowledge that the system wants change. It’s attention-grabbing to see how their old school, methodical method comes into play when the stakes turn into extra heightened. Not like the FBI, Hamer and Gault aren’t politically motivated, they merely need to see harmless individuals stored protected.

Though the 2 movies usually are not spinoff of one another, The Highwaymen contains parts of the true story that Bonnie & Clyde omitted. One of many movie’s strongest scenes entails Hamer speaking with Clyde’s father, Henry (William Sadler), who expresses trepidation about disclosing particulars about his son’s whereabouts. It’s an attractive second the place the 2 characters are capable of connect because they are both fathers; Costner reveals a softer, extra empathetic facet to Hamer that makes him value investing in as soon as the movie reaches its bloody-soaked climax.

Kevin Costner Has Reinvented the Western Style

Whereas its set within the Nineteen Thirties throughout the finish of the “frontier period,” The Highwaymen is actually impressed by classics of the Western genre. The movie is eager to notice the eccentricities of the small Texas cities, and spends time showcasing the attractive landscapes of the pure atmosphere. Costner is completely solid as a grizzled, but nonetheless passionate former gunslinger who’s compelled to return to a career that he had lengthy since left behind; it appears like a personality that John Wayne or Clint Eastwood might have performed of their youthful days.

Costner has actually helped to revitalize curiosity within the Western style by proving why its themes are nonetheless resonant. Between the sprawling mythology of the Yellowstone franchise, his neo-Western thriller Let Him Go, and his upcoming work on the historical epic Horizon – An American Saga, Costner has confirmed himself to be one of many titans of the style.

The Highwaymen is streaming on Netflix within the U.S.

Watch on Netflix