After trying to find something to watch on NETFLIX the other night, (have I said before how much I hate the NETFLIX search engine), I finally found something that intrigued my wife and I. It was “The Highwaymen”, starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson. Now, even though Costner films tend to be epic in length, they are usually pretty good, and my wife and I are hard pressed to find something that Harrelson has done that we did not like (well ok there are a few, but not very many). Before starting the film, I flipped over to IMDB to see what the film was about.
In short, “The Highwaymen” tells a tale of Bonnie and Clyde, yet from the perspective of the law officers chasing them. This is a far cry from the original 1967 film of Bonnie and Clyde starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman. The original film is one of my personal favourites. I remember watching it several times when I was a child, and then when VHS movies came into vogue buying a copy then. Since that time, I have also purchased it on DVD and finally Blu-Ray. Each time I watch that film, I still enjoy the story, and most importantly the acting and cinematography. However, the original film, idolized Bonne and Clyde, giving them a cult-like status and made all the law look like a bunch Keystone cops. This version is very different. It tells the same tale, except from the side of the law. In this instance Hamer (Costner) a retired Texas Ranger is brought back to active service by Lee Simmons (Lynch) with the reluctant approval of the Governor, Ma Ferguson (Bates). Hamer (Costner) recruits his old partner from the Texas Rangers, Gault (Harrelson). This proves to be easy as Gault (Harrelson) as this is the depression era and he is down on his luck, and quickly signs on. The film then outlines the means that Hamer (Costner) and Gault (Harrelson) track Bonnie and Clyde to their ultimate demise.
How did we find this film? My wife and I both thought that this movie was pretty good. Both Costner and Harrelson gave solid performances as the grizzled law enforcement officers brought back from retirement. The two main actors portrayed a solid chemistry and enabled the quips, barbs and one-liners the opportunity to be delivered and appreciated before continuing on with the dialogue. Costner, always stoic, plays the solid straight man and enables Harrelson’s sense of humour to be appreciated in this film. The cinematography was solid and we appreciated the realism with respect to the scenery, props, costumes etc. There may have been a few goofs with respect to the props or story accuracy, but none that we noticed or interfered with the telling of the tale. Everything seemed to be in place as it should be. One fact that I thought for sure was “an act of political correctness” in films was when Governor Ma Ferguson (Bates) was introduced in the film. I thought for sure that the 1930’s were far too early for woman to hold the position of Governor and that the film makers were trying to “modernize” the film or re-write history a bit. I was pleasantly surprised that when I did look it up, she was in fact real, and Ma Ferguson (Bates) was actually in her 2ndterm (not sequential) during the time of Bonnie and Clyde. (See the film actually taught me something!)
While on the subject of Kathy Bates, she is a great actress who always delivers. We have been fans of Kathy Bates ever since seeing her in Misery. She can play the full spectrum, everything from the psychotic bitch (Misery), Mother (Dolores Clairborne, About Schmidt) to con artist/criminal (Bad Santa 2). She has the talent to play them all. Even though her part was minimal in this film, her portrayal still had an impact. She presented Ma Ferguson as a hard charger, firm and displayed a definite purpose in life. She would get the job done, even if the lines had to be blurred a bit. The real person also would have required the same traits to be a Governor in that era, so I can appreciate her performance in this role. As always, her character was entertaining, too bad she did not get more screen time in this film. But alas, this film concentrated more on the law enforcement aspects vice the political.
John Carroll Lynch as Lee Simmons; while a very minor role in this film, his character was important for the introduction and recruitment of Hamer (Costner) to pursue Bonnie and Clyde. His performance and screen time were solid, nothing extraordinary, but still added to the film and its final conclusion.
There were numerous other characters in supporting roles, playing either police officers, FBI agents or family/supporters. All of them added to the ambience of the film and ensured that the story flowed. After the film, I did look up some of the facts surrounding the pursuit of Bonnie and Clyde, one thing I did find interesting was that in real life, Gault (Harrelson) did not join Hamer (Costner) till just before their massacre, and that he was not really down on his luck. However, having a duo chase them made for a more intriguing and interesting film, so I do understand the theatrical liberties. Of note, one technique that was utilized in this film that was really well done, was that audience did not get introduced to the faces of Bonnie and Clyde till the very end. I thought that this was an excellent way to ensure that the audience does not support the criminals and stay focused on the films heroes. Well done in our opinion!
Would we recommend this film from NETFLIX (if you can find it using their search engine). Yes, we would. It is a very good drama, that tales the tale from a different standpoint. We really enjoyed it and I would probably watch it again in a year or two. So if you want a good movie for a Saturday night, search through NETFLIX until you come across “The Highwaymen”, I don’t think you will be disappointed!
If you are looking for some other films starring the main characters, consider the following recommendations!
Kevin Costner Dances with Wolves, Tombstone, JFK, The Untouchables
Woody Harrelson The Hunger Games (Trilogy), Zombieland (1&2), After the Sunset, True Detective
Kathy Bates About Schmidt, Dolores Clairborne, Bad Santa 2, The Stand
Till next time!
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