P>Ok folks this is the first glimpse at THE NEWTON BOYS as a film. I saw Richard about three days ago here in Austin during the screenwriter's festival, he was on a panel about music in film. I wonder if when he saw me, if he thought..."that bastard's gonna break my screening." or if he thought..."I wonder what the geeks will think?" or even..."who the hell is that?" Well no matter, the first word on this one is very solid. This is the FIRST test screening of the film, and is an over 2 hour cut, that will most likely be trimmed down, but maybe not. Everything is tentative at this point.
For those of you that are wondering why the hell Richard is making a western/gangster style film... well, let's just say he has a wiiiiiiidddddeeeeee range of film interests. Expect surprises from him. Meanwhile I'll step out of the way and let our spy, Dengar, let loose the news. I can't wait. The review is SPOILER free.
I'm writing to report to you about Richard Linklater's newest movie, The Newton Boys.
Being a fan of Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise is a personal favorite of mine), I was excited to be invited to this movie. Now that I've seen it I can happily say that Linklater has scored again.
The film seemed to be mostly done, although we were watching a work-print. We were told that the music was temporary. It was mostly banjo and ragtime stuff. It was actually an interesting change of pace and fit the early 1910's setting well.
Here's a run-down of some of my (spoiler-free) thoughts:
THE STORY:
The movie details the life of Willis Newton (Matthew McConaughey) and his three brothers. The Newtons' have the distinction of being the most prolific bank robbers in U.S. history. This is the story of their rise and fall.
We've seen this type of movie many times before (Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Young Guns), so we pretty much know the drill of this movie from the start. Having said that, I still found this story really interesting. This isn't a heavy handed film--in fact, I was surprised by how light-hearted it was. The movie is funny and touching at times. Despite familiarity with the genre, it still managed to truly surprise me a number of times.
THE PERFORMANCES
This is one of the movie's strongest points. The whole cast rocks, quite frankly. The realtionship between the brothers and the romance between McConaughey and Julianna Margulies keep this movie brimming.
Here's the deal on the cast:
Matthew McConaughey: He's the main character and the leader of the Newtons'. I was impressed by him in Contact and he does another great job here. He really anchors the movie. I'm looking forward to seeing him again in Amistad.
Ethan Hawke: This is a different type of character than Ethan usually plays. He's the heavy drinking wild-and-crazy Newton. The audience got a big kick out of this character.
Skeet Ulrich: He plays the youngest Newton. He's the most leary about leading a life of crime. I liked this performance too. I only know Skeet from Scream, and he plays a much different character here. He really looks like Johnny Depp to me.
Vincent D'Onofrio: What can I say? He's always great. He's the oldest Newton and he has spent a lot of his life in jail. He's not the brightest of the brothers. I was surprised by this character. I figured he'd cause a lot of trouble for the Newtons' and cause fights in the group. But his character avoided cliche and went in a direction different than I expected.
Dwight Yoakham: I thought he did an excellent job in Sling Blade. He does the same in this movie. People snickered when they saw his name, but I'll bet they were surprised by how good he was. This guy can act. He plays the only member of the Newton gang that's not a Newton. This causes some tension.
Julianna Margulies: I guess this is her first feature film role. I have a crush on her on ER. She's really good in this movie. I really enjoyed the story of her relationship with McConaughey. I'm looking forward to seeing her in more movies.
THE DIRECTION
This movie is a total departure for Richard Linklater. If I hadn't known he was the director of this movie, I never would have guessed. His trademark long conversations about any-old-thing are no where to be seen (or heard) here. He's a good director. Once again, he avoids being too arty or frantic with the camera. He lets the story and the actors do the work. I think it works well in this movie.
THE SETTING
It's the first decade of the 1900s. The Newtons' rob banks all across America and even go to Canada. The look and feel of this early time are captured very well. The music (although it they said it was just temp) helped make the film look authentic.
THE ACTION
The action is pretty well done, although there isn't much in the way of fighting (for the most part). The Newtons' rob banks mostly at night when no one is around. However, there's a lot of tense scenes that had me holding my breath. This isn't an action movie though. I found the way which the action unfolds refreshing. Like I said, the plot is familiar, but it unfurls in a novel way.
THE PACING
The movie was a little over two hours. It didn't seem that long. It clipped along at a good pace. There were only one or two spots that I felt could use some editing. It will probably be tightened before the film is released next year.
THE ENDING
This is one of the best parts. I was really pleased by the way everything turned out. There's some great stuff that happens during the credits too. It was amazing. The audience loved it.
AUDIENCE REACTION
I think the audience enjoyed this movie. They laughed at all the right times. People cheered when the saw Matthew McConaughey. No one moaned or groaned. People left the theatre happy. I don't think many people felt they wasted their time.
Well, there you have it. I finally got to go to a test screening, and it turned out a good movie I had wanted to see to begin with. Cool! I wasn't selected to be part of the focus group, so I can't report on what they said. But as far as I'm concerened this is a damn enjoyable movie. The good people at FOX have nothing to fear from me about this movie.
