“One Year After Yellowstone, Kevin Costner Headlined the Decade’s Best Netflix Mystery Western”
Kevin Costner’s Netflix Western ‘The Highwaymen’ Is a Hidden Gem for Yellowstone Fans
After earning praise for gritty films like Sicario and Wind River, Taylor Sheridan brought his signature neo-Western style to TV with Yellowstone, casting Kevin Costner as hardened rancher John Dutton. The role felt tailor-made for Costner, who has long embodied the spirit of the American West. But just one year after the hit series premiered, Costner starred in another Western crime drama—this time for Netflix—in a vastly underrated 2019 original film: The Highwaymen.
For decades, Kevin Costner has been synonymous with the Western genre. From Silverado and Dances With Wolves to Wyatt Earp, he carried the torch left by Clint Eastwood after Unforgiven in 1992. Whether it’s a 19th-century frontier or a modern-day ranch, Costner’s cowboy legacy is undeniable. So it’s no surprise that The Highwaymen, where he stars opposite Woody Harrelson, stands out as one of Netflix’s best—and most overlooked—Western-inspired thrillers.
A New Perspective on the Bonnie and Clyde Saga
Unlike most Bonnie and Clyde adaptations, The Highwaymen doesn’t glamorize the infamous outlaws. Instead, it shifts the spotlight to the two lawmen who took them down: Frank Hamer (Costner) and Maney Gault (Harrelson). The film reframes the story not as a lovers-on-the-run romance, but as a sober manhunt grounded in truth. Writer John Fusco dismantles the myth of Bonnie and Clyde, portraying them not as Depression-era Robin Hoods, but as cold-blooded criminals who killed working-class people and law enforcement officers.
The film begins with Clyde’s prison break and a violent escape, which triggers a statewide manhunt. Texas Governor “Ma” Ferguson reinstates retired Texas Ranger Hamer, who then brings in his former partner Gault. The aging duo hit the road in pursuit, using old-school detective work, instincts, and grit to track the outlaws across several states.
As they follow the trail of violence, they encounter both the adoration and delusion the public holds toward Bonnie and Clyde. But the film makes clear these criminals weren’t rebels—they were murderers. Of their twelve known victims, nine were police officers.
A Gritty Western Crime Drama in the Style of ‘True Detective’
Much like Sheridan’s work in Yellowstone or 1923, The Highwaymen blends elements of Westerns and detective thrillers into a compelling narrative. Hamer and Gault are portrayed as relics of an earlier time, facing a world that seems to have moved on. Yet when the stakes are high, their experience and methods prove effective.
From its rural Southern landscapes to its tension-filled pacing, the film evokes classic Western tropes while telling a true-crime story set in the 1930s. Director John Lee Hancock leans into the dusty, sun-bleached aesthetic, creating a world where justice is murky and the heroes aren’t clean-cut.
The film also shines in its character work. Hamer and Gault’s dynamic evolves from skepticism and mistrust to mutual respect and friendship. The film ends on a subtle, emotional note, showing how their bond strengthens through the pursuit and the consequences that follow.
Deconstructing the Bonnie and Clyde Myth
One of the most impactful choices in The Highwaymen is the way it handles Bonnie and Clyde visually—they’re mostly kept off-screen. When they do appear, their faces are rarely shown, emphasizing the point that this isn’t their story. This narrative device helps the audience detach from the romanticized version of the duo and instead see the broader impact of their crimes.
The film is careful to humanize their victims and highlight the brutality of the gang’s actions. While earlier films, especially the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, painted the criminals as antiheroes or cultural symbols, The Highwaymen strips away the myth to reveal the harsh truth.
Why ‘The Highwaymen’ Deserves a Second Look
For fans of Yellowstone and modern Westerns, The Highwaymen is a must-watch. It’s a slow-burn, character-driven drama with the grit and moral complexity that define the best of the genre. Combining true crime with a classic frontier mentality, it offers a fresh, sobering take on one of America’s most infamous crime sprees.
Though often overshadowed by flashier Netflix titles, The Highwaymen stands as one of the streaming platform’s finest original films. It proves that even in a world of modern storytelling, there’s still room for old-school lawmen—and Kevin Costner remains the undisputed cowboy king of both past and present.
