Review of The Newton Boys (1998) by Allan C — 16 Jan 2016

I never watched this film back in the day, but I was a huge fan of writer/director Richard Linklater and I'm also a sucker for dustbowl stories like this, so I'm surprised I never checked this film out.

Linklater tells the true story of the outlaw Newton Boys who were the most successful American train and bank robbers of all time, who (SPOILER ALERT) all lived to a ripe old age, living to tell the tale.

Linklater casts a charming group of actors to plays the gang, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet UlrichVincent D'Onofrio, Julianna Margulies and Dwight Yoakam. He also has Chloe Webb and veteran western actors Bo Hopkins and Luke Askew as well.

For whatever reason, I always imagined this film as a low budget independent affair, but it really is a full blown period piece in all it's glory. And I'm not sure what it is about these "Grape of Wrath" dust bowl tales that attract me, but this one totally fits into what I like and had my number.

Strong performances, a smart script that balances suspense, humor and heists, and balance direction from Linklater, all add up to a solid film. I know many critics didn't care for this film, but it worked for me and my fondness for the setting may have overcome the films shortcoming around plot and various contrivances.