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Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 2, 2019 18:01:48 GMT
The Highwaymen (2019)
In this latest Netflix offering, a paunchy Kevin Costner and a grizzled Woody Harrelson (the latter after a previous investigative two-hander in True Detective) play a couple of reinstated Texas Rangers - at first doubtful as to their effectiveness away from their heyday, brought to hunt down Bonnie & Clyde, a murderous rampage out of control. Unlike previous tellings of the these events, we see only glimpses of the criminals up until the final shootout, leaving the film concentrating on the changing, and often deprecating, relationship between old lawmen buddies: whether their time on the road, scornful of new developments in police procedures, or hunting Bonnie & Clyde down. Fortunately the pairing is, as one might expect, a good one, with Costner and Harrelson enjoying a suitably world-weary rapport, renewing respect for each other, which makes any longeurs incidental. Director John Lee Hancock, whose previous two efforts were Saving Mr Banks and The Founder, builds the period atmosphere and there's a good soundtrack by Thomas Newman. The overall story and its denouement maybe well known (certainly the climactic scenes can't quite escape the shadow of Arthur Penn's seminal work of decades back) but this is a fresh approach, the end result enjoyable.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2019 19:05:38 GMT
I too thought this was an enjoyable and interesting film . The concept was cool cause it was told from the perspective of the two rangers and how hard it was to catch Bonnie & Clyde. Costner & Woody had good chemistry and Woody esp had some great line through out the film . Would recommend it to anyone that has Netflix.
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Post by tommyrockarolla on Apr 2, 2019 19:16:30 GMT
Thanks. Probably going to watch it tonight!
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Post by faustus5 on Apr 3, 2019 11:04:52 GMT
The Highwaymen (2019)In this latest Netflix offering, a paunchy Kevin Costner and a grizzled Woody Harrelson (the latter after a previous investigative two-hander in True Detective) play a couple of reinstated Texas Rangers - at first doubtful as to their effectiveness away from their heyday, brought to hunt down Bonnie & Clyde, a murderous rampage out of control. Unlike previous tellings of the these events, we see only glimpses of the criminals up until the final shootout, leaving the film concentrating on the changing, and often deprecating, relationship between old lawmen buddies: whether their time on the road, scornful of new developments in police procedures, or hunting Bonnie & Clyde down. Fortunately the pairing is, as one might expect, a good one, with Costner and Harrelson enjoying a suitably world-weary rapport, renewing respect for each other, which makes any longeurs incidental. Director John Lee Hancock, whose previous two efforts were Saving Mr Banks and The Founder, builds the period atmosphere and there's a good soundtrack by Thomas Newman. The overall story and its denouement maybe well known (certainly the climactic scenes can't quite escape the shadow of Arthur Penn's seminal work of decades back) but this is a fresh approach, the end result enjoyable. I thought it was just okay. I wanted to like it more, but at least the two leads carried me through to the end.
Unfortunately, while it was more historically accurate than the Penn film, it still had a lot of bullshit and telling omissions.
The Costner character didn't just retire from the rangers because he was getting old, in reality he retired to protest the election of a female governor. Why not include that difficult detail to make his character more complex and interesting? Instead we get another typical gruff, determined, stoic hero. He could be that and deeply flawed at the same time.
And the portrayal of Bonnie Parker as a merciless murderer, while a common perception, is not supported by the historical record. The scene were she turns over a wounded officer and shoots him in the head is not believed to have ever happened (I think I read that she was asleep in the car when it happened and at that point was so badly injured from an acid burn on her leg that she could barely walk). In fact, it is questionable whether she ever so much as fired a gun at another person during the entire crime spree.
The filmmakers would have had more integrity if they had eschewed myth making in favor of gritty, difficult realism. But no, they wanted the audience to get off during the scene where Bonnie and Clyde go down in a hail of bullets, and knowing that Bonnie's only probable sin was hanging out with killers would have taken the satisfaction out of that sequence.
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Post by Vits on Apr 28, 2019 8:51:49 GMT
3/10
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Post by tommyrockarolla on Apr 30, 2019 2:53:54 GMT
The Highwaymen (2019)In this latest Netflix offering, a paunchy Kevin Costner and a grizzled Woody Harrelson (the latter after a previous investigative two-hander in True Detective) play a couple of reinstated Texas Rangers - at first doubtful as to their effectiveness away from their heyday, brought to hunt down Bonnie & Clyde, a murderous rampage out of control. Unlike previous tellings of the these events, we see only glimpses of the criminals up until the final shootout, leaving the film concentrating on the changing, and often deprecating, relationship between old lawmen buddies: whether their time on the road, scornful of new developments in police procedures, or hunting Bonnie & Clyde down. Fortunately the pairing is, as one might expect, a good one, with Costner and Harrelson enjoying a suitably world-weary rapport, renewing respect for each other, which makes any longeurs incidental. Director John Lee Hancock, whose previous two efforts were Saving Mr Banks and The Founder, builds the period atmosphere and there's a good soundtrack by Thomas Newman. The overall story and its denouement maybe well known (certainly the climactic scenes can't quite escape the shadow of Arthur Penn's seminal work of decades back) but this is a fresh approach, the end result enjoyable. I thought it was just okay. I wanted to like it more, but at least the two leads carried me through to the end.
Unfortunately, while it was more historically accurate than the Penn film, it still had a lot of bullshit and telling omissions.
The Costner character didn't just retire from the rangers because he was getting old, in reality he retired to protest the election of a female governor. Why not include that difficult detail to make his character more complex and interesting? Instead we get another typical gruff, determined, stoic hero. He could be that and deeply flawed at the same time.
And the portrayal of Bonnie Parker as a merciless murderer, while a common perception, is not supported by the historical record. The scene were she turns over a wounded officer and shoots him in the head is not believed to have ever happened (I think I read that she was asleep in the car when it happened and at that point was so badly injured from an acid burn on her leg that she could barely walk). In fact, it is questionable whether she ever so much as fired a gun at another person during the entire crime spree.
The filmmakers would have had more integrity if they had eschewed myth making in favor of gritty, difficult realism. But no, they wanted the audience to get off during the scene where Bonnie and Clyde go down in a hail of bullets, and knowing that Bonnie's only probable sin was hanging out with killers would have taken the satisfaction out of that sequence.
I didn't know that info about his 'protest retirement', but I'll take your word for it. I suppose they glossed over it, but did allude to he and her having some sort of issue. The Bonnie scene. Yea, like the FBI staged the famous newsreel, right? Was it sort of based on some murky eyewitness testimony? I do believe she fired shots in anger during the spree. There were enough survivors over the years where that message could've gotten through, IMO. They were all the very definition of poor white trash sociopaths, she was enamored with Clyde, and once the shooting began, from what I understand? They'd shoot anyone. I think this rubbed into her. Anyways, I enjoyed the movie, maybe a 6-7 of ten. I give the Penn movie and 8-9, but a view it as a work of fiction.
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Post by politicidal on Apr 30, 2019 17:22:46 GMT
I would probably have been a journalist. You write enough to qualify.
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