Richard Linklater has undergone quite a journey over the decades, rising from obscurity in the early 1990s with some of the most inventive films of the period, and becoming one of the most established directors currently working, an artist known to be both versatile and endlessly ambitious, and someone who could as easily make a wacky stoner comedy as he could a deep and introspective metaphysical drama (although both tend to capture the very essence of the human condition as a whole), which has stood him in good stead as a truly reliable and compelling filmmaker. Yet, this was not always the case, since he didn’t have immediate success in the sense that he was consistently handed blank cheques, not even after the runaway success of films like Dazed and Confused and Before Sunset, which remain two of his most cherished works. This also speaks to his status as an oddly prolific filmmaker, since he is constantly working and turning out films that are not always widely seen, but tend to amass fond cult followings, even if they pale in comparison to some of his more notable work. The Newton Boys is one such film, coming after a well-received run of films that drew attention to Linklater, but not enough to give him the boost he needed to truly become a guiding force in the industry, something that would only happen a few years down the line. His retelling of the true story of the Newton Gang, widely considered to be the most successful bank robbers in the history of the United States, and whose entire claim to fame was based around their years of pillaging banks around the country, and the relatively paltry consequences they paid, as each one of them managed to live well into old age, almost to the point of becoming figures of folklore in American culture. One of the director’s more ambitious films, but one made before he was quite ready to tackle a subject this large, The Newton Boys is a solid film, one that has a few shortcomings that don’t distract from the merits, but do tend to soften the potential impact it could have made, which is ultimately one of the reasons it is viewed as more of a footnote in the director’s career, more than one of his defining works.

Prior to The Newton Boys, Linklater was seen as someone intent on working on comedies and more lightweight dramas (the latter in the form of Before Sunset and its later sequels, which are still tinged with comedy, but do take a more subdued approach) based in everyday life, which meant that it was quite a deviation for him to suddenly choose to make a historical period piece that was steeped heavily in reality, a challenge that he was intent on overcoming, producing his most ambitious film that he had made up until that point. It’s undeniable that this is a more serious film, with the story being told through means that emphasise the historical aspect of the narrative, rather than attempting to revise history or make it more accessible through changing too many details or making use of a more upbeat tone. The story of the Newton Gang is certainly a challenging one, and Linklater had his work cut out for him when choosing the right approach to their story, which goes in multiple different directions and doesn’t lend itself to a single coherent narrative, at least not in the traditional sense. However, its insistence on being somewhat historically accurate doesn’t preclude it from having some sense of humour to it. We find that The Newton Boys is a wonderfully playful film that doesn’t veer too far into the realm of comedy to the point where the entire tone changes, but rather it sets out to be an actively exciting, entertaining subversion of the traditional cinematic western that inspired Linklater, and the results are genuinely very strong. It was with this film that Linklater proved that, while he may not always be strong when it comes to more serious subject matter, he is capable of handling something produced on a wider scope. He hasn’t done much period-specific work since (at least not in terms of going too far back into the past), but the technique and style he employs for The Newton Boys shows that he was clearly a director fully in command of his craft, even relatively early in his storied career.

Linklater is commonly cited as an actor’s director, since it’s rare to find anyone collaborating with him and not turning in some of their greatest work. Whether working with one of his regular collaborators, enlisting an industry veteran to pay a visit to his world, or attempting to discover the next major star, Linklater tends to bring out the best in all of his actors. The Newton Boys features a combination of these elements, featuring a reunion between the director and Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke, both of whom were breakout stars of his earlier work, while being the director’s first collaboration with the likes of Vincent D’Onofrio, Skeet Ulrich and Dwight Yoakam, all of whom fit perfectly into this film and bring such complexity to otherwise quite conventional roles. Each of the main characters in this film is well-crafted and developed perfectly, featuring some exceptional work from every actor, each one committed to bringing out the humanity in their parts rather than simply depending on the archetypes from which they are initially formed. McConaughey and Hawke are the de facto leads, and both are terrific – the former’s gruff, almost swan-like elegance is sharply contrasted with the latter’s mischievous nature, which proves to be quite a remarkable change of pace from the usually one-dimensional heroes we would expect in these roles. The chemistry between the five leads, as well as a bevvy of terrific supporting players, gives the film nuance and enough complexity to work through some of its more peculiar elements, and while The Newton Boys may have a few small flaws, none of them are the result of the cast, since everyone is doing their absolute best, often having to put in additional work to not blend into the background, and these results show exceptionally well throughout the film, which is well-defined by its ensemble and their willingness to explore the depths of these characters, bringing them to life with sincerity and a lot of charm, which sets the foundation for the entire film.

The Newton Boys may be wildly entertaining, but what makes it effective is that there is a genuinely intriguing structure that guides the film and makes it so incredibly poignant, with many ideas swirling beneath the surface contributing to the slightly more mature tone with which the director seems very eager to work. The reason this story is so fascinating has very little to do with the actual criminal activities – by all accounts, the Newton Gang were not all that interesting when it came to their methods, since every heist was essentially just a run-of-the-mill robbery, with their non-descript technique being one of the factors behind their success over the years. Instead, the aspects that draw us in are actually those that occur alongside these more obvious components. Linklater’s fascination with the human condition has been one of the few consistent elements of his work, and he constantly seems to be drawn to stories that touch on connections between individuals. The Newton Boys proved to be fertile ground for this kind of storytelling, since we find that Linklater is very much enamoured with the concept of a gang of bank robbers that also happen to be brothers, united in this endeavour not out of greed, but rather a shared hope to elevate themselves out of their miserable, impoverished existence. Family is a common theme in Linklater’s work, and this film proves to be quite a touching exploration of brotherhood, with a lot of the humour and most heartfelt moments coming from the interactions between the titular clan, who are bonded by their desire to escape poverty by any means necessary. Another notable theme is that of the American Dream, or rather the extreme incredulity against it as a concept. The America found at the heart of this film is one that is corrupt, callous and divided by economic and social status to the point where overcoming even the smallest of boundaries seems to be impossible. It may be slightly underdeveloped in this particular area, but The Newton Boys still makes smart, pointed observations that are filled with meaning, elevating this beyond a simple crime drama and instead making it something far more compelling and unique.

There is an argument to be made that Linklater was maybe not quite ready to make a film like The Newton Boys at this point in his career, since he was still developing his voice, and he had yet to make anything like it, both in terms of scope and story. Yet, the minor flaws are mostly easy to overlook – it can sometimes have a jagged tone that implies it may not have known exactly what it wanted to be, and the story sometimes struggles to hold our attention in the moments where the exposition is quite notable, which a more seasoned director would have known how to overcome (especially since the film runs about twenty minutes longer than it should have), streamlining the narrative to be more consistent rather than layering on an abundance of unnecessary information. The film is mostly quite good, and its willingness to be ambitious is one of its most significant traits, and something that earns our respect and admiration without too much effort. The performances are solid, the writing strong, and the direction precise, everything mostly hitting the intended targets and being very entertaining, even if we yearn for what this film could have been had it been tackled by Linklater later on in his career, after which he had worked through enough stories to be able to add even more insights into this narrative. Not necessarily premature, but rather one that required a more distinct directorial approach that the ambitious young Linklater didn’t quite possess at the time, The Newton Boys is nonetheless a terrific film, and one that keeps us engaged and invested, exploring the past in a manner that is smart, witty and filled with genuine excitement, exactly what we’d expect from an otherwise very simple, straightforward subversion of western tropes and the messages that usually accompany them, something that Linklater investigates in his own unique and daring manner, leading to a fascinating film that remains one of his more underappreciated, and is therefore ripe for rediscovery by all of those who hold reverence for the direction and his audacious, daring artistic point of view.