SXSW 2019 Review: THE HIGHWAYMEN: An Interesting Story In Need Of Tightening

To me, some of the most frustrating films are the ones that carry so much potential, but one more revision of the script or one more iteration of trimming the cut could make the film substantially better. The Highwaymen is exactly this example, and I hate to say that I was disappointed by this, given that I’ve been a fan of John Lee Hanc*ck’s works.

The premise should sell itself to any fan of the Western cowboy genre. The film tells the true story of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson), the two men who successfully caught and killed the notorious Bonnie & Clyde.

Intriguing Time Period, Intriguing Circumstances

For an individual who knows only Bonnie & Clyde as people and thus knows nothing about the historical context of the criminals, I found its time period and circumstances very intriguing.

I knew that the criminal pair has already killed a handful of law officers and are at a constant reign of terror across the state. What I never knew was the dynamic shared between the state’s lawmen and the Texas Rangers, with the history of the Rangers fading away in time. It makes for an additional layer of melancholy when we learn that Frank and Maney have not only been retired for a long time, but they’ve had a history of ups and downs, back when they were partners.

Good Performances, Good Cinematography, Good Score

Costner and Harrelson do their best with what was given. Both of them play men who are haunted by their past actions; a lot of their performances come from what they’re thinking about, instead of what’s being said. They play their characters both visually and psychologically, as old but experienced men chasing after a young couple of love and crime.

For a film that’s shot across the state of Louisiana and Texas, the photography captures the barren yet beautiful landscape of the American land, open to so many possibilities yet tainted by crime and folktales of violence. Accompanying Hanc*ck and cinematographer John Schwartzman’s sense of imagery is a wonderful melancholy score by Thomas Newman, whose previous collaboration with Hanc*ck earned him his thirteenth Oscar nomination for Original Score, in Saving Mr. Banks.

Lack of Energy, Lack of Style, Lack of Stakes

Despite all the positive technicalities demonstrated throughout The Highwaymen, it’s still not enough to keep me emotionally invested from start to finish. A lot of its arguable blandness comes from its slow pace and lack of style. While I can understand Hanc*ck’s approach in telling a more poetic, more melancholy story, it still robs the film of its urgency. The plot is still about people of the law trying to hunt down the country’s most notorious criminals. There needs to be some form of stakes.

Most of The Highwaymen is just going through the numbers, with one scene of dialogue after another, and not enough action or suspense to keep the forward momentum of the plot alive. It’s not until the last 15 minutes when The Highwaymen finally showed the top-tier crime Western it could’ve been, where the action, tension, and emotional fallback finally come through. It even dipped its feet into the fascinating subject matter of Western celebritism and romanticism, enough to be noticed but not enough to be layered and meaningful.

The Highwaymen: Well-Intentioned, Needs Tightening

The Highwaymen is a well-intentioned Western drama that takes a new perspective on the Bonnie & Clyde mythology, but it desperately needs another run at tightening the runtime in the editing department. In spite of the good production value and interesting performances, the narrative is too bloated, with little to no kinetic energy to make the whole film worth seeing.

To me, this is exactly what you should expect out of a Western that’s going straight onto Netflix. It’s not a bad film. It’s just fine, with occasional moments that highlight its potential brilliance.

I hope the film finds its audience, because there will be viewers out there who will accept and take in this period piece that’s heavy on the dialogue and light on the set pieces. I, on the other hand, just could not stop thinking about better films in this genre. More suspense? No Country for Old Men. More grand set pieces? True Grit. More melancholy and artistic poetry? The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Ford.

Did you see The Highwaymen at SXSW? What did you think of the film? Share below!

The Highwaymen premiered at SXSW on March 10, 2019. It will be released on Netflix on March 29, 2019. For all international release dates, click here.