Whether or not you are familiar with the details you have probably become at least somewhat familiar with the story of Bonny and Clyde. I knew a bit about them that they were bank robbers who were also lovers and they happened to be doing their crimes during a time of unrest in the United States where a lot of people felt as though the banks were screwing the people over in a lot of ways. Well, spoiler alert! The banks have been and always will be screwing the people over. But let's stay on point and focus on this film for now.
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Even if people are familiar with Bonny and Clyde there probably wasn't a lot of talk about Frank Hamer and Maney Gault. Frank is a retired Texas Ranger and Maney is an old buddy of his. They are older, but very effective at putting together clues and finding things that other detectives simply can't. Apparently a lot of their sleuthing is true-to-life as well and they were instrumental in the capture and killing of the real Bonny and Clyde.
Now, this all sounds wonderful that a rather unknown aspect of the existence of the famed lover duo would be presented in a big film with two very accomplished actors, but there is a very real problem. Police work, when presented in a realistic fashion especially in the 30's when this takes place, isn't really all that exciting. Kostner and Harrelson are both fantastic in their roles but there is only so much you can do with a car, some maps, and a couple of grizzled detectives piecing together clues.
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The script is pretty good and they attempt to create some sort of humorous moments between the dynamic duo in that they butt heads on a lot of things and these verbal disagreements are part of the reason why they are able to figure out so many things that other people can't. This isn't directly stated in the film, but the reason why Maney and Frank are so effective is because there is not hierarchy between then, there is no "yes men." Even though Frank is technically Maney's superior, he doesn't order him around and pull rank outside of one point in the film and once you see that you will understand the importance of the fact that Maney ignores the order and puts himself in potential harm's way in the meantime.
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While they are the ones that are the reason why this film exists in the first place, Bonny and Clyde are not shown on screen very often. We do not get to see into their side of the story, what they are doing, and what they are thinking very often. While this is a strange choice because it certainly would make the film more interesting, the film is meant to focus on the lawmen pursuing them, not on those that are being pursued.
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If you know, you know
The repetitive police work along with the inevitable dick-measuring contest that takes place between the various law-enforcement groups that are involved are at times reasonably entertaining but for the most part the reality of this story is that two dudes were running around in a car for months or more, following the trail of the most wanted criminals in the United States at the time. There isn't really much in the way of excitement that can be thrown into the mix.
I suppose in a way I am happy that they stuck to the real story rather than trying to "Hollywood it up a bit" but at the same time there is only so much "gruff inspiration speech from Costner" followed by "somewhat whiney but wisdom filled retort from Harrelson" that can really be enjoyed.
The best parts of the film involve their encounters or near encounters with Bonny and Clyde and while I don't care enough to actually look it up, I would imagine that some of them are a bit exaugurated. Unless you are completely ignorant of the existence of Bonny and Clyde, you already know how this one ends up anyway.
Should I watch it?
Normally, I enjoy these takes on historical moments that have certain elements that the general public are likely not aware of but in this particular case, I don't really feel as though there are enough breakthrough moments and interesting scenarios that happen during the over 2-hour runtime to really keep the average person entertained. Woody and Kevin are two of the best of making long speeches that would be mundane by most other people turn exciting, but too much is asked of them in these roles and you will find yourself frequently bored, despite the set pieces the director did his best with to attempt to make entertaining.
I frequently felt myself bored and looking at my phone and this is never a good sign. Therefore, I can only give this one a "maybe,"
This film can be legally streamed on Netflix