Review of The Highwaymen (2019) by Michahsimmons — 30 Mar 2019

This is a review coming from someone who knew (knows?) virtually nothing regarding the history of Bonnie and Clyde or their pursuers, the highwaymen, and equally as little regarding the movie itself prior to viewing.

I'm writing this review primarily as a counterpoint to the not-so-surprising low critic scores, after having thoroughly enjoyed the film myself. I feel like many such reviewers missed the point in that the best part about this movie is that it captures what once made movies great; not by what is said, but what's intentionally and deftly left unsaid (but implied), allowing the viewer to contemplate and form their own opinions as to the moral implications or significance of what is happening instead of having their hands held, being told the "right" way to view the situation.

There are a few areas where I felt the dialogue went a bit awry, being somewhat inconsistent with the characters, for narrative purposes, but with the breadth of the story being told it makes sense to me.

I do wish that certain areas had been fleshed out a little better, such as the main character's back stories, but again in those times this was being done, I feel the writer/director/actors did an excellent job in showing instead of simply telling, and wasted no time adding depth and believable justifications for their outlook.

For some, the pacing of this movie could likely be too slow, but I greatly enjoyed it, as I felt it was intentional to give the viewer a sense of the experience of the highwaymen. It's definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoy movies based in the 1930's/40's and aren't someone who feels the need to have a political agenda present in every movie they watch, as it seems some critics were pining for.