The Highwaymen (2019, Netflix)

I have always been a big fan of crime.

I know that's an odd thing to admit. Give a great caper film like The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974), a crime drama like Diva (1981), a true crime movie like The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) or murder most foul like Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and I am enthralled! So is the case with Netflix's current offering, "The Highwaymen".

The Highwaymen are a pair of Texas Rangers, Frank Hamer (retired, played by Kevin Costner) and Maney Gault (on the skids, played by Woody Harrelson), who are called on by the new Governor, played by Kathy Bates, to track down Bonnie and Clyde.



Unlike the entertaining vehicle from 1967, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, this film deals with the relationship between two old friends and their realization that the world has changed and is passing them by.

Through the film, their technique and eye for details and clues shines brightly as they outdo a better equipped and younger group of FBI agents. They don't do it to show off. Their training was obviously different from the current methods employer by law enforcement. But the idea of wire taps and aerial surveillance, even a car radio, is a revelation to them. Still, they do their jobs well and bring the case to its inevitable conclusion.

Most interesting about this film is Bonnie and Clyde. Here, they are only bit players, often seen from a distance. They are also shown as more killer than bank-robbing folk hero. There is little sympathy for the two, as would be generated by the 1967 feature or 1958's "The Bonnie Parker Story" starring Dorothy Provine. If you do a little online research, you'll find that the pair robbed more gas stations and Mom-and-Pop shops than banks. They also murdered 13 people, mostly police. That aspect of their behavior is shown hundreds of feet away. No gratuitous blood here.

Overall, the film is engaging, with excellent performances by Harrelson and Costner (of whom I am not really a fan). Kathy Bates plays a great politician. I'd have voted for her. And, like Titanic (1997), we all know the ending. That doesn't make the film any less watchable. The director, John Lee Hancock, is a veteran of several notable films, like "The Blind Side", "Saving Mr. Banks" and "The Founder". He seems to have a good knack for capturing real stories of real people and bringing them to the screen.