REVIEW: THE HIGHWAYMEN

3/5

Natural Born Untouchables.

132 Mins. Starring: Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, Kim Dickens, John Carroll Lynch, Thomas Mann, William Sadler & Kathy Bates. Director: John Lee Hancock.

As American as apple pie, baseball, or 'Field Of Dreams'. That is Kevin Costner. If you build a classic, golden era 90's movie...he will come. But this one is as 'Lawless' prohibition era timeless and nostalgic as it gets. Tommy guns, Gumdrops and Woody. Harrelson that is, as the 'True Detective' and 'Natural Born Killers' star joins an 'Untouchable' one on 'The Highwaymen' trail of America's most notorious lovers in lead assassins, Bonnie and Clyde. Cheers to Woody who even tries to pass the bar with his own 'Untouchables', "he's in the car" like line. With Texas Ranger true grit, highwaymen haven't been this cool since Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and them. And you know here Woody is the one with "Georgia" on his mind here. The whole day through. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway played the original runaway 'Bonnie and Clyde' in the classic Hollywoodland movie. But in today's 'La La Land' you could be forgiven for reading the wrong envelope as the young actor and actress who play the criminal couple here aren't revealed until the final frame of their cut, eerily, evokingly filmed on the same stretch of real road these two were taken down on. You'll be wondering throughout this compelling take of surprisingly for its subject matter quite a pleasant picture, who they really are. This writer even thought (hoped) the Bonnie in a bonnet was his favourite flame haired Jessica Chastain. But alas you'll have to IMDB to find out who these young actors really are. But who needs the original Mickey and Mallory when you have the untouchable detectives of Costner and Harrelson? Not to mention the 'Misery' of Kathy Bates. And can we say with all due respect to the King of horrors and that classic adaptation, but in some ways it's a real shame that Bates names is associated with a film of such title when her name alone on a credits casting call inspired so much of the opposite joy. Well I'll be God damned...had to get that in somewhere as we hit the highway of this old slice of Americana.

Netflix may just have the monopoly on what makes up for over half the movies that come out these days. From the outstanding Oscar winning 'Roma', to Ben Affleck's Hollywood A-List enlist 'Triple Frontier' (this one is more 'Live By Night') and all the 'Velvet Buzzsaw's' circling in-between. Even a timeless, classic looking one like this has gone digital. If you're not making Friday night a date night at the cinema each week, then you're chilling with the latest new releases on the streaming service as you turn the lights out with your homemade bowl of microwave popcorn spinning. But 'Us' only last week were talking about the pilgrimage to the sanctimony of cinema and how there's still a romantic magic to it. Especially when it comes to blockbusters and event genres like the hide behind your hands nature and nuance of horror like 'The Twilight Zone' Jordan Peele's latest classic. But still even though for as much as it gives you as it takes something away, you have to love the smartphone convenience of having so many and different types of movies, new and classic in the palm plan of your hand, ready to go at any minute. Akin to having a whole library on your Kindle, or music collection on your iPod (wait...they've stopped using them?). And besides, sometimes it's better to stay in. Sometimes you want an epic 'Endgame' like event to dust off those cinema seats like stetsons. Others you could take it leave at home and not worry about the price of admission. John Lee Hancock with a John Lee Hooker like cool and traditional as the blues name for this ol'murica epic like western gives us exactly the latter, shot sublimely. Netflix is where some movies go to die. You can find them in the 'Continue Watching For (insert your name or whoever's Netflix account you "borrow" here)' section, frozen in forever ten minutes in time (we know what you're doing). But along with bringing some of his former actors around for this ride, the Bullock football kid, 'The Blind Side', the Disney of Mary Poppins, 'Saving Mr. Banks' with Hanks and the original McDonalds ham-burglar of Michael Keaton for all the fries in 'The Founder' director continued his run of molding movies into that matinee style, perfect to frame for your next lazy Sunday. This is no earth's mightiest heroes duking it out with the guy with the golden glove to save half the universe population. But it is two real life group lawmen out on the range trying to take down two of the most dangerous and famous (and that much more so for the former with this latter fact) criminals the United States and the watching world has ever seen. And in flashbulb through the Tommy round shattered glass car of these crooks moments you see just how for some bizarre reason these two call it like it is murderers where idolized by the American public. As John Lee has something to say about the nature and history of violence and what it means today in a stakeout meandering on the road movie that saves that type of collateral carnage for the finale that stays with you in its exact location long after you've stopped casting. This terrifying time of misguided ignorance wasn't long before one where they would start to test the atomic bomb in the deserts of Las Vegas, whilst real gamblers in Sin City would line up excitedly in front of men in white coats with Geiger counters to see how radioactive they were. Really? Really! This is America people.

Frontiersman Kevin Costner was American dream born for a role like this, as he and his partner in arms play the real like icons of justice Frank Hamer and Maney Gault. The 'Dances With Wolves', 'Postman' and 'Waterworld' epic actor has always been a Tom (Cruise or Hanks) Hollywood type of his own, young to old legend. From being one of the original 'Prince Of Thieves' Robin Hood's (on a time where he was as American denim popular as...erm Canadian Bryan Adams chart topping and staying theme song), to being the only real Kansas farmhand that could play Superman's earth father and do it so subtley and beautifully (see his "I miss you son" somber story of wild horses in a mountain vision for the 'Batman v Superman', still so cruelly underrated sequel. It's not all about Martha). And here this United States national treasure gives us his level, front and centre best in years between Jack Ryan's and his western 'Hatfield and McCoys' television pasture years that have had highlights with the 'Hidden Figures' of NASA and Jessica Chastain's 'Molly's Game' gamble that paid. Two movie moments underscored by soaring strings here are classic Costner with apple pie warm feeling (NO! Not that kind). One were he Rooster Cogburn tests his aims eye, shooting glass bottles in the barrell as a tussled hair kid throws them up like clay pigeons for dollar note bills. And one where like an old testament 'John Wick', Costner from Smiff to Western Winchester buys guns, "lots of guns" from a local stores clerk and the in awe helping hand of his son with deadeye, behind the notes, understated but disarming charm. Classic Costner. And with his 'True Detective' look intact and in hat, Woody Harrelson-who along with fellow executive producer Matthew McConaughey has given the third season of the HBO show they started something to go by the 'Green Book' of double Oscar winner Mahershala Ali for-makes for the perfect partner and sidekick to Costner's Dick Tracy esque Elliott Ness. Although arguably even more famous a face and talked about than Kevin these days, the ever working and versatile actor of  'The Hunger Games' and 'Now You See' me franchises too (last year this guy starred in the Oscar Best Picture, 'Three Billboards' and a 'Star Wars' story. Hell of a résumé, even for one calendar) is just as good as blending into the background like his fabulous scene steal in 'Friends With Benefits', as he is 'Rampart' working alone, or causing Carnage in a sequel to Marvel's 'Venom', ever since he cleared the Boston bar in 'Cheers'. But here alcohol soaked in sobering memory and spiritually stunted until his own two demands he stands up for himself, Woody brings charismatic nuances to this complicated, but outright decent man. Just don't disturb him when he's trying to take a piss. And his coffee shop, road stop for breakfast scenes, chewing the fat of whose taken more for the two man team with Costner and their Tommy BLAM, BLAM blast of a shooting range scene to prove it are camaraderie over the decades redefined. And even though we ride Iggy Pop passenger with this wheelman and shotgun as they traverse the great roads and routes of these United States it's more than these old man, buddy cop dynamics that we get to go back-to-back with over this trip. Like 'Blind Side' and 'Gone Girl' actor Kim Dickens, looking and feeling every seam and the way she carries herself born for this era that the costume department couldn't even dress up as good. Or another Hancock reunited actor in 'The Founder's' John Carroll Lynch. Who like his foggy foreshadowing in Scorsese and DiCaprio's 'Shutter Island' is the perfect scene setter. And let's not forget rising star and veteran character actors alike in Thomas Mann ('Kong: Skull Island') and William Sadler ('The Shawshank Redemption'). But it's Kathy Bates with a commanding performance as the first female Governor of Texas, Miriam "Ma" Ferguson. The 'Fried Green Tomatoes' iconic actress taking everyone to the old school like she did when she showed Leonardo which was the right fork to use first for dinner on the 'Titanic'. Dallas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana. It's been a long road for these 'Highwaymen'. Even late and now retired acting icons and legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford were once called upon for the duty of this undertaking to go along for the ride (imagine that Butch Cassidy). But in the end on this road, director John Lee Hancock and his dynamic duo got their man...and the dame. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Untouchables', 'True Detective', 'Public Enemies'.