The Reivers

The Reivers is a supremely well produced coming of age story that just doesn’t work.

Set in turn-of-the-century Mississippi, the plot sees a young boy steals his father’s car for a road trip with two scoundrels played by Steve McQueen and Rupert Crosse.

Part of the problem is the tone. The film flip-flops between outright farce and serious drama, but never finds its footing. The comedy seems forced and over the top while the drama seems out of place and almost off-putting, like the scene where one young boy pulls a knife on another in a fight. For a film that had, to a large degree, felt like a Disney family film up to this point, it’s a somewhat jarring image.

The other problem is the cast. While he would have been perfect ten years earlier, McQueen, now pushing forty, simply looks too old for his role, as does Rupert Crosse. Both men give fine performances, but, as middle-aged men acting so ridiculous, seem almost creepy, as opposed to loveable rascals.

That said, The Reivers is a triumph of production design in its perfect recreation of the early 1900s south. It’s a completely realized world and while there’s certainly some entertainment in simply enjoying the details, unfortunately it’s not enough to justify the 107-minute running time.