The Newton Boys movie storyline. Richard Linklater’s fifth feature is a major departure from his previous work — his first big-budget picture, it’s also the first of his films since his 1987 Super-8 effort “It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books” not set during his signature 24-hour time frame, offering instead a ravishing bankrobber period piece buoyed by a gentleness of spirit rare among movies of any genre.
Its true story tells of the four Texas-born Newton brothers, who between 1919 and 1924 were the most successful robbers in the U.S.; led by the newly-paroled Willis Newton (Matthew McConaughey, in arguably his strongest performance to date), the gang — siblings Jess (Ethan Hawke), Joe (Skeet Ulrich) and Dock (Vincent D’Onofrio), as well as nitroglycerin expert Brentwood Glasscock (Dwight Yoakam) — embarks on a crime spree which spreads across the U.S. and into Canada, heisting bank vaults only at night in order not to hurt or kill anyone. (As Willis figures it, the bankers — all covered by insurance — are merely thieves themselves anyway.)
A sweetly contemplative film, The Newton Boys is almost an anti-crime caper — no one gets killed, and the violence which does occasionally erupt is handled with a light comic touch. By no means a master storyteller, Linklater has instead crafted a movie tailored to his own strengths, among them his skillful direction of actors, his flair for period detail and his unerring sense of rhythm; like all of his work, The Newton Boys is also informed by its maker’s deep and abiding love for the film medium itself, complete with any number of striking visual and emotional references to classics ranging from Greed to Jules et Jim. While viewers expecting slam-bang action typical of the genre will undoubtedly be disappointed, those seeking a more humane and poetic alternative will be utterly charmed.
The Newton Boys is a 1998 American comedy-drama film based on the true story of the Newton Gang, a family of bank robbers from Uvalde, Texas. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, who was actually born in Uvalde, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Dwight Yoakam. It was filmed throughout Texas including the towns of Bertram, Austin, Bartlett, New Braunfels, and San Antonio.
The Newton Boys (1998)
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dwight Yoakam, Julianna Margulies, Casey McAuliffe, Dwight Yoakam, Chloe Webb
Screenplay by: Clark Lee Walker, Richard Linklater
Production Design by: Catherine Hardwicke
Cinematography by: Peter James
Film Editing by: Sandra Adair
Costume Design by: Shelley Komarov
Set Decoration by: Jeanette Scott
Art Direction by: Andrea Dopaso, John Frick, Randy Moore
Music by: Edward D. Barnes
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 28, 1998
Views: 128
