The Newton Boys

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title The Newton Boys
Original title The Newton Boys
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1998
length 117 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Richard Linklater
script Richard Linklater,
Claude Stanush ,
Clark Walker
production Anne Walker-McBay
music Edward D. Barnes
camera Peter James
cut Sandra Adair
occupation

The Newton Boys (Original title: The Newton Boys ) is an American drama from 1998 . Directed by Richard Linklater , who, together with Claude Stanush and Clark Walker, also wrote the screenplay based on a book by Claude Stanush.

action

Over a period of five years, the film tells the story of four brothers from Texas - Joe ( Skeet Ulrich ), Jesse ( Ethan Hawke ), Willis ( Matthew McConaughey ) and Dock ( Vincent D'Onofrio ) - who together with Brentwood Glasscock ( Dwight Yoakam ) robbing banks.

In 1919, Willis Newton lost his job as a cotton picker after spending two years in prison for an act that he said he did not commit. This leads to a certain bitterness that breaks into the implementation of his very own philosophy: Together with the explosives expert Brentwood Glasscock he wants to rob rich banks and give the money to the poor, first of all himself. Willis Newton and Brentwood Glasscock are trying their luck first with Slim ( Charles Gunning ) as a trio and in daylight. However, the robbery proceeds differently than planned: Slim is shot from his horse and Willis has to jump into a river. From these experiences, Willis Newton and Brentwood Glasscock conclude that they should avoid similar activities during the day and instead blow up safes at night. First, Willis brings his younger brothers Joe and Jesse on board, followed by the oldest brother Dock.

The gang works its way through the US states of Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois and Wisconsin. Some of the robberies are shown in their process, while most are only briefly sketched with a montae of pictures of money, exploding safes and newspaper headlines. In Omaha, Willis Newton falls in love with an attractive, single mother ( Julianna Margulies ). Finally, the gang arrives in Canada to steal money bags from bank couriers in broad daylight. From there it goes on to their biggest robbery - based on the money to be looted - a mail train with over 3 million US dollars near Chicago . Due to the size of the sum, the largest train robbery in US history to date, they are permanently targeted by the rule of law. Even though the gang has imposed the rule not to shoot anyone, they do not proceed non-violently and instead shoot with non-lethal use of force (such as in arms) and later beat up a lot of police officers in Toronto.

The brothers move to Toronto , where Dock Newton is shot by his colleague Brentwood Glasscock. The other brothers take him to the doctor and are then arrested. After a trial, they are sentenced to prison terms.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on March 27, 1998 that the film portrayed events in a "subdued, winding" fashion. There is a lot of conversation on the subject of bank robbery - which is not particularly interesting. The film would lack “thrust and energy” . If there were any action scenes at all, they would look like a shadow from the film Bonnie and Clyde - whose influence is also noticeable in the costumes, the vehicles and the music. The pictures of the real Willis Newton and Joe Newton shown during the credits are particularly entertaining.

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film made "known in a detailed naturalistic recapitulation of the time style" "with a less spectacular side of gangsterism and the American dream, albeit at the price of tension and dramatic escalation" . It therefore remains “just as respectable as it is boring” .

Richard Linklater's fifth work is "a fast-paced, entertaining film that replaces gritty tension with a slightly dramatic character interaction that occasionally borders on pure comedy" ( " a fast-paced, entertaining motion picture that replaces gritty tension with a lightly- dramatic character interaction that occasionally borders on straight comedy. ” ), so a comparatively benevolent review from the United States. However, none of the actors show an outstanding performance, but in return no one seems wrongly cast. Vincent D'Onofrio shows the strongest performance from the ranks of the four central actors.

In a short review for Entertainment Weekly , David Everitt asks in consternation the initial question whether the time has really come to imitate gangster filmmakers from the 1970s. Specifically, he means the (in the original simply titled "Dillinger") film Hunt for Dillinger (1973) and Thieves Like Us (1974). However, the director and co-author Richard Linklater does not succeed in capturing the charm of these films.

In a differentiating review, Manohla Dargis from LA Weekly contrasts the performance of the actors with the film: While Linklater succeeds in "the impossible" and he makes Ethan Hawke "bearable" and he also manages to help Skeet Ulrich and Dwight Yoakam to achieve a more convincing screen presence as the “extremely talented” Vincent D'Onofrio, the cinematic portrayal of a life made of theft, alcohol and women is “terribly boring”. In addition, there are few things that would not be a complete surprise.

The "Newton Boys" are " a good-looking film with a good-looking cast", but the story is "astonishingly one-dimensional" ( English " a good-looking movie with a good-looking cast ...] surprisingly flat story." “ ), So SF Gate .

For the director Richard Linklater “The Newton Boys” is the “most conventional film” and - despite some weaknesses - “not bad” and “a thousand times more enjoyable than his terrible SubUrbia ”.

sales

At the box office in the United States, the film turned over $ 10.5 million; including $ 4 million on its opening weekend. In the statistical analysis of the weekend, the ninth place among all films meant a top 10 placement and - just under 2,000 theaters - an average turnover of just over 2,000 US dollars per cinema.

backgrounds

The film was shot in Austin , San Antonio, and a few other locations in Texas . Production costs were estimated at 27 million US dollars . The world premiere took place on March 14, 1998 at the South by Southwest Film Festival . The film grossed approximately $ 10.3 million in US cinemas. In some countries like the UK it was released directly on video.

Due to the use of obscene language and depictions of violence, the film has received a PG-13 clearance classification from the Motion Picture Association of America .

Trivia

In the film, the character played by Matthew McConaughey, Willis Newton, persuades a banker to hand over a list of all banks that use a certain type of safe that reacts well to nitroglycerin by promising never to rob his bank. In real life, Willis actually got such a list from an employee of the Texas Association of Bankers - but he paid for it.

Even if the gang of "Newton Boys" actually ceased to exist in 1924, as portrayed in the film, not all members have drawn their conclusions from the subsequent time in prison. The real Dock Newton was arrested in 1968 at the age of 77 for attempting to rob a bank. In 1973, at the age of 84, the real Willis Newton was accused of again being involved in a bank robbery - but there was insufficient evidence to put him behind bars.

At the end of the film, Richard Linklater includes original TV recordings of the aged Newton brothers in the credits; including a rather jovial visit by a brother to Johnny Carson on his The Tonight Show .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e James Berardinelli: The Newton Boys ( Memento of December 5, 1998 in the Internet Archive ). In: colossus.net (language).
  2. ^ A b Stephanie A. Hanson: The Newton Brothers (1998). In: christiananswers.net. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c Alex von Tunzelmann: The Newton Boys: ruthless bandits, not lovable folk heroes. In: theguardian.com. February 22, 2018, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  4. ^ A b Peter Stack: Bank-Robbing `Newton 'Brothers Show Boys Will Be Boys. In: sfgate.com. March 27, 1998, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  5. ^ A b Anton Bergstrom: Review: The Newton Boys (1998). In: 3brothersfilm.com. April 26, 2016, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  6. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert, accessed January 7, 2008
  7. ^ The Newton Boys in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed January 7, 2008
  8. ^ David Everitt: Movie Review - Newton Boys. In: ew.com. August 14, 1998, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Manohla Dargis: Oy! In: laweekly.com. March 25, 1998. Retrieved November 14, 2018 .
  10. ^ Keith Phipps: The Newton Boys. In: avclub.com. March 29, 2002, accessed November 14, 2018 .
  11. ^ The Newton Boys (1998). In: boxofficemojo.com. March 27, 1998, accessed November 15, 2018 .
  12. ^ IMDB: Filming locations for The Newton Boys, accessed January 7, 2008
  13. ^ IMDB: Box office / business for The Newton Boys, accessed January 7, 2008
  14. ↑ IMDB: The Newton Boys premiere dates, accessed January 7, 2008
  15. ↑ Janet Maslin: FILM REVIEW; Bank Robbery as Boyish Fun. In: nytimes.com. March 27, 1998, accessed November 14, 2018 .