The Newton Boys (1998)
2h 2m | PG-13
The four Newton brothers are a poor farmer family in the 1920s. One day, the eldest, Willis, realizes that there's no future in the fields and offers his brothers to become bank robbers. Soon, they gain notoriety and, five years later, execute the greatest train robbery in American history.
Director: Richard Linklater
Studio: Detour Filmproduction
Genre: Crime, Action, Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Matthew McConaughey
as Willis Newton
Skeet Ulrich
as Joe Newton
Ethan Hawke
as Jess Newton
Vincent D'Onofrio
as Dock Newton
Dwight Yoakam
as Brentwood Glasscock
Gail Cronauer
as Mia Newton
Reviews
Richard Linklater has tried hard with his cast here, but somehow this tale of the real life Newton gang whose criminal career culminated in one of America's most infamous train robberies just doesn't catch fire - at all. Matthew McConaughey (Willis) leads his brothers Jess (Ethan Hawke), Joe (Sweet Ulrich) and the scene stealing Vincent D'Onofrio (Dock) as the young men conclude - with the complicity of their mother (Gail Cronauer) that they don't need to live in rural penury for ever, and that with some meticulous planning they can accrue a considerable fortune without harming anyone but by robbing the railroad. Sadly, though, the actors don't really gel - they are four men who seem to be vying for screen time as much as anything else; there is little evidence of a team on screen which rather belies the truth about why this gang were at all successful. It does move a long apace, though - there is plenty of gun action and some fun pyrotechnics as their antics gain momentum and their targets become bigger. Historically, the ending is quite interesting - and I think quite suitable, though I very much doubt the railroad saw it that way. It's watchable, the production is fine and the dialogue is quite lively at times, but in the end, the sum of the parts just doesn't make for much of an whole. Disappointing.