In 1967, the film Bonnie and Clyde was released, chronicling the adventures of the titular duo. Detailing their life of crime up until their violent death, the film was an intense thrill ride with comedic undertones that proved popular with younger generations and opened the door for filmmakers to be more open with the portrayal of sex and violence in films. The story of Bonnie and Clyde has another side of it, which was the hunt to take them down. That story hasn’t been told until Netflix’s The Highwaymen, which unfortunately is nowhere near as gripping of a tale as Bonnie and Clyde’s story was.
The film tells the Bonnie and Clyde hunt through the point of view of former ranger Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner), who’s hired by governor Ma Ferguson (Kathy Bates) to take the duo down. Hamer enlists the help of his former partner Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson), and the two go from town to town, based on where they hear Bonnie and Clyde will be next, hoping to get the drop on them.
The film is marketed as an adrenaline-fueled cat-and-mouse game as Hamer and Gault track down Bonnie and Clyde, but unlike the 1967 film, this is actually a lot more reflective and slower-paced, dragging out its unnecessary two-hour-and-ten-minute run-time. The film mostly takes its time, with many shots of the two driving around, not saying much, and mulling over what just occurred in the scene before.
That’s not to say that there aren’t moments of pure excitement. There are some great moments, such as a car chase that gets stopped due to a crowd of people separating the two, as well as a scene of Hamer brutally interrogating a civilian who almost covers up for the duo. When the film kicks it into high gear, it’s very engaging to watch. Unfortunately, these moments come few and far in between.
The issue is there really aren’t that many dramatic beats to Hamer and Gault’s story. At least, the way in which it’s portrayed in this film. Instead, the film dedicates a decent amount of time to the public’s perception of Bonnie and Clyde themselves. There are multiple scenes in which Hamer and Gault are held up as someone tries to protect Bonnie and Clyde from capture, or where civilians are seen talking amongst themselves, murmuring how much they adore Bonnie and Clyde.
While focusing on the public’s perception of Bonnie and Clyde is not a bad idea, the issue is this feels like the wrong movie to tell that story, as it greatly takes away from an engaging story of the titular highwaymen. The film also never really says anything that insightful as far as what others thought about the duo, with scenes mainly being of just people saying how great they are, and nothing more. It’s also interesting if the two were really romanticized the way they were at the time. While the 1967 film added a romantic aura to the duo, it’s unsure if the public was just fascinated with serial killers at the time, or if they really thought the duo were really trying to help the public.
When the film actually does focus on Hamer and Gault, it never really feels like anything insightful is said about either of them, and they feel more like stock characters that have been seen in countless other movies. Hamer embodies the trope of the cop who comes out of retirement for one last job - complete with a mainly pointless exchange once he’s offered the job, where he mulls it over with his wife, played by Kim Dickens, who’s never seen again after that one scene. Meanwhile, when Gault’s introduced, he’s the down-on-his-luck alcoholic who seeks meaning and redemption. The only attempts at making these two interesting are through generic cliches.
The only reason the audience actually does root for either of these two leads is all in part to the performances. Both Costner and Harrelson are both fine here, and display some solid chemistry, which makes it a shame they didn't have a stronger screenplay to work off. Nevertheless, they both have a strong enough screen presence that can at least keep the audience tuned in through the entire movie. Costner usually has a commanding presence when on screen, and here, he’s no different. Harrelson is the real scene-stealer though, bringing his usual bitter sarcasm with him, that allows him to get in some fun exchanges with both Costner and the civilians they encounter, making him one of the film’s largest saving graces.
The Highwaymen isn’t a bad movie, but it definitely fails as a great comparison piece to Arthur Penn’s 1967 classic. The film is less of a thrill ride and more of a somber, more meditative experience that unfortunately never has anything truly groundbreaking to say about its subject matter. It has some fun, engaging moments as well as charming enough performances from both Costner and Harrelson that are enough to keep audiences to stick around to the end, but there’s not enough here to make audiences want to ride down this highway more than once.
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