John Lee Hancock did not, on the surface, seem a great pick to direct The Highwaymen. Of his previous three films, two were cheerful, unsubtle biopics (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks). 2016's The Founder did have a bit of an edge, but it shot itself in the foot with its passive approach to the flaws of its protagonist. The Highwaymen, however, needed a subtler approach to its themes and a willingness to take a side on the subject matter. I began to doubt his ability to pull this mature film off even more with Netflix's bare minimum marketing and the less than ecstatic reviews circulating.
Imagine my surprise, then, when The Highwaymen turned out to be a very high quality piece of film. The best film of Hancock's I've seen, it follows the true story of two grizzled former Texas rangers (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson) as they hunt down Bonnie and Clyde.
The most common criticism of the film that I've seen is that it's boring. I didn't find that. While I'll admit it's a little long, I found the story and characters engaging the whole way through and it was helped along by some very nice cinematography and use of colour.
Of our two leading men, I think Costner gave the stronger performance, which is good seeing as he's the leading man. Harrelson's character is written as more humorous and, while not every one-liner is well-delivered, he is a much better fit for that character than for Costner's, and vice versa. Kathy Bates (a Hancock veteran) also co-stars as the governor, in a role that's written a little too hammily but she manages to pull off.
The film never shows the faces of Bonnie and Clyde, preferring to keep them either obscured, out-of-focus, or hidden in quick cuts. Hancock would not shut up about this in interviews so I thought it was going to come off as gimmick-y and pretentious but it's actually really effective. It builds a sense of mystery and sinister intent around the characters. I guess you could map Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway onto them if you want but these are new, more realistic versions of Bonnie and Clyde, the likes of which we've never seen on film before.
Most of the film is dialogue-driven but it does mount a couple of impressive action scenes, the best of which involves a blind car chase, where the fast cuts intentionally confuse you so that you are as disoriented as the characters. The violence is also tastefully done. It doesn't glamorise any killings, even those of no-name characters.
Like another 2019 Netflix film, Triple Frontier, its lead characters agonise over the morality of killing, even for a good cause. Costner's is determined, set on ending the violence anyway possible, while Harrelson's believes in a moral line that separates the two rangers from the two killers. Like in that film, the themes are somewhat unevenly touched upon, mainly because the film is also trying to balance a commentary on the popularity of Clyde and co. with the middle and lower classes at the time. Tonally, its attempts to mix in some humour also feel misplaced within the film.
The editing was very hit-or-miss. There were some good scenes, but overall it felt a little jumpy at times, if that makes sense.
Still, for me, at least, I think The Highwaymen will end up as one of the biggest positive surprises of the year.
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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