HIGHWAYMEN

4/10

USA 2003 : Robert HARMON : 80 mins

Psychopath Fargo (Colm Feore) has an unusual m.o., knocking down his helpless victims in a 1972 Cadillac. But when he slays the wife of medic Renny (Jim Caviezel), the grief-stricken widower swears vengeance at any cost... Highwaymen goes down as a frustratingly missed opportunity: the enticingly brief running-time promise a welcome throwback to the era when B-movies were full of souped-up, pedal-to-the-metal thrills. But, after an exciting early scene in which accident-survivor Molly (Rhona Mitra) and pal Alex (Andrea Roth) encounter Fargo in a claustrophobic road-tunnel, Harmon and scriptwriters Craig Mitchell & Hans Bauer are far too content to fritter away their precious time tootling along in low gear. Budgetary limitations are evident throughout - the faceless locales were filmed in rural Canada - and the film could have done with several more slam-bang action pieces to keep the pace from dragging and, more importantly, to prevent the viewer from dwelling on the plot's fast-accelerating ludicrousness.

11th July, 2004
(seen 9th July : Vue, York : public show)

click here for Road Kill, Neil Young's essay-length review of Highwaymen

by Neil Young

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