Film

The Newton Boys

Name: The Newton Boys
Genre: Crime, Action, Drama
Released: 1998
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dwight Yoakam

Heist

Richard Linklater's 1998 crime film about the real Newton gang, Texas bank robbers who operated with unusual restraint and brotherly loyalty. McConaughey leads a charismatic ensemble through Depression-era heists that prioritize planning over firepower. It's a genial, character-driven take on outlaw life—more interested in why they did it than the adrenaline of doing it.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy caper stories told with unhurried good humor, where the pleasure is in watching a crew of loose-limbed, sharp-dressed outlaws improvise their way through a job.

Skip it if you want a relentless thriller with stakes ratcheting up scene by scene, since this one is amiable and episodic, happy to linger on the gang's camaraderie over tension.

What it asks of you: Settle in for roughly two hours at a loose, rolling pace that favors banter and period texture over suspense, and let its easygoing shape do the work.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Hell or High Water2016

Modern Western about a bank-robbing brothers bound by duty and desperation. Smart plotting, genuine tension, and a meditation on legacy and survival that echoes the Newton gang's own story.

But Considerably grittier and more violent than The Newton Boys. If you wanted gentler, this will feel like a corrective.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969

Redford and Newman as charming outlaws who use their wits as much as their guns. The template for outlaw-buddy films—funny, warm, and quietly tragic about men running out of road.

But It's a 1969 film in every way: pacing, color grading, the philosophy. Needs patience if you're used to modern rhythm.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster

Public Enemies2009

Michael Mann's Depression-era crime film with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, caught between the thrill of the score and the emptiness it brings. Gorgeous and elegiac, with real historical weight.

But At 140 minutes, it's deliberately paced. Some find it remote—Mann is interested in mythology more than warmth.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Newton Boys

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Lockwood & Co.2023

Both are fundamentally about small teams bound by loyalty and mutual trust, using brains and planning rather than violence to survive in systems that want to crush them.

British paranormal investigation series with three young protagonists running an independent agency. Shares the Newton Boys' DNA: charismatic ensemble, loyalty-based plotting, found family, and young people operating outside official channels with ingenuity over firepower.

But It's a supernatural mystery series, not a crime film—tonal departure. Also cancelled after one season, so the story doesn't conclude.

The Killer1989

Charlie Chaplin's crime caper about a con artist couple operating across America. Lighter touch than you'd expect, genuinely funny, and interested in the human behind the job.

But It's silent. A real barrier for some viewers, though the physical comedy is extraordinary.

Crazy Heart2009

Jeff Bridges as a washed-up country singer grappling with consequence and redemption. Similar ensemble warmth and interest in men defined by their choices—McConaughey would've been perfect here too.

But It's a character study, not a plot. The music-biopic formula, which can feel thin if you're not invested early.

Three Kings1999

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube as soldiers caught between duty, greed, and conscience in post-Gulf War Iraq. Character-driven crime-action with real moral weight beneath the entertainment.

But Tonal shifts between comedy and atrocity can feel uneven. The politics are front and center, which not everyone wants from an action film.

Johnny Cash: The Man In Black

Documentary about Cash's fascination with outlaws and the criminal underworld, exploring why artists are drawn to lives lived outside the law. Direct connection to the Newton gang's cultural mystique.

But Requires interest in Cash himself. If you don't connect with his music or personality, the film won't compel you.

Once Upon a Time in the West1968

Sergio Leone's masterpiece about men defined by reputation and code in a dying frontier. Slow, mythic, preoccupied with what it costs to be the outlaw everyone talks about.

But Three-hour Western from 1968. Glacial pacing, minimal dialogue, operatic—this is the opposite of plot-driven.

Lucky You2007

Eric Bana as a poker player making bad decisions with charm and optimism. McConaughey in a smaller role; same ensemble warmth and interest in men who thrive on risk and luck.

But Uneven film that doesn't quite work. Worth it for the performances, not for any larger vision.

The Ballad of Little Jo1993

Both explore what it means to build a life and identity entirely outside normal structures—not through rebellion, but through necessity and human connection.

Suzy Amis as a woman who reinvents herself as a man to survive in 1880s Montana. Western about outlier survival and found community. Far quieter and more introspective than The Newton Boys, but same interest in people living authentically outside society's rules.

But Slow, austere, focused on internal life rather than plot. The gender themes are central, which reshapes the whole story from the Newton gang's familiar frame.

A Prophet2009

Both are about survival through planning, loyalty, and the development of brotherhood—but this one traps those values in a system that corrupts them, exploring the darkness the Newton Boys mostly escaped.

French crime drama about a young man's rise through prison hierarchy via intelligence, strategy, and trust-building. Operates in the same register as The Newton Boys—character and loyalty matter more than action, and the real story is how men survive by understanding each other.

But It's a prison film, deeply French, and morally complex without heroes. Grittier and more claustrophobic than you might expect.