The four Newton Brothers were the most successful bank robbers in American history. It`s taken until now to tell their story, which is perhaps understandable because they were just regular guys really. Willis, the oldest played by Matthew McConaughy, feels the world owes him a bit because he`s just out of gaol from a bum rap and pickin` cotton just isn`t doing it for him. He discovers the pleasures of robbing banks through nitroglycerine expert Brentwood Glasscock - Dwight Yoakim - and soon calls in the services of brothers Jess - Ethan Hawke, Joe - Skeet Ulrich and, when he finishes serving time Dock - Vincent d`Onofrio as back up. Together they pull off an alarming number of heists, justifying themselves when the banks claim more than they stole in insurance, and generally having an enjoyable life.
The attraction of this film is right up there on the marquee - McConaughy, Hawke, Ulrich and d`Onofrio. Co-writer/director Richard Linklater makes a sluggish effort out of this true story. At just over two hours it`s way way too long with not enough sheer entertainment to keep it going. The brothers seem to blend into an amorphous mass with only slight character differences distinguishing them. This is a play-it-by-the book account of history. The brothers lived to ripe old ages and the real treat in the film is in the end credits where you get to see the real Joe and the real Willis interviewed.
