The untold story of the Texas Rangers who finally stopped Bonnie and Clyde
In short: For decades, the legend of Bonnie and Clyde dominated the American imagination. The 2019 film The Highwaymen shifts the perspective, focusing on the retired Texas Rangers tasked with ending the duo's violent spree. It is a grounded, historical look at the lawmen who operated in the shadows of fame.
Development of The Highwaymen was a long-term ambition for screenwriter John Fusco, who sought to portray Frank Hamer in a historically accurate light. Fusco conducted extensive research in Texas and formed a friendship with Hamer's son, Frank Hamer Jr. The project spent years in development hell, initially conceived as a vehicle for Paul Newman and Robert Redford. By 2005, producer Casey Silver began actively developing the pitch, which eventually moved from Universal Pictures to Netflix, which secured the rights in 2018.
The film stars Kevin Costner as Hamer and Woody Harrelson as Benjamin Maney Gault. The narrative follows the two former Texas Rangers as they are pulled out of retirement to track the fugitives across the American Midwest. Unlike previous cinematic depictions of the era, the film emphasizes the methodical, often tedious nature of police work, including wiretapping, surveillance, and the navigation of jurisdictional disputes with the FBI. The production team went to great lengths for authenticity, filming at various historical sites in Louisiana, including the actual road where the final ambush occurred.
Upon its release in March 2019, the film received mixed reviews from critics, holding a 58% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While some praised the performances of the leads, others felt the film lacked the kinetic energy of Arthur Penn's 1967 classic. Despite the critical reception, the film found a significant audience, with Netflix reporting that 40 million households watched it within the first month. The film serves as a deliberate counter-narrative, focusing on the law enforcement perspective of a story that has long been romanticized through the lens of the criminals themselves.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Highwaymen (film)
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