Mikes Film Talk

In many ways Hell or High Water is a modern day depression era film. This 2016 western, directed by Brit director David Mackenzie is nigh on perfect. Taken from a script written by actor/writer Taylor Sheridan, the film follows two down-at-their-luck Texas brothers. They are robbing a specific set of banks. 

Cast and Story

Chris Pine; and Ben Foster; Toby and Tanner Howard, respectively, are the brothers. and Jeff Bridges, along with his Texas Ranger partner Gil Birmingham hunt the two men down. This is the last case of soon to be retired Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges). The Howard brothers are only stealing enough cash to set up Toby’s estranged family.

Hell or High Water is a tad slow and methodical, even a little predictable. Especially towards the end of the film, but overall, it hits all its marks. There is the odd surprise. Bridges may just steal the film with his reaction in the desert.

Hamilton “takes the shot.” In an almost thrown away moment, he plays a kaleidoscope of emotional ranges. This all happens in a few frames. It shows just why this Oscar winner is a sure bet for any film that requires massive acting chops . It also shows he has the cojones to know when to pull a coup. Whatever Bridges was paid for his smaller role was not enough.

Let’s Talk

Mackenzie manages to emulate, to a great extent, the murky and under-bellied world depicted so well by the Coen Bros. “No Country for Old Men” springs to mind as does the 1984 film “Blood Simple.” Both are in rural Texas. Each one about people trying to rise above their station despite the odds against them.

The film is almost a homage to brotherly love. It is also a cry of outrage against the banks who take advantage of society’s poor. , Hell or High Water shows the opposite side of the same coin. Bridges’ character is a man “out of time.” He is working to finish one last case before retiring.

Hell or High Water is also about family and how even dysfunctional ones can come together when they need to. Foster’s character is a repeat offender. He really does not fit into society as a “useful” member and helps out his straight brother. The siblings may not see eye-to-eye on how to rob banks but they manage to work pretty well together.

Relationships

Equally fractious is relationship between the two Rangers. They come across as being a bit too prickly. Their jibes are good natured underneath those cutting remarks issued by both Hamilton and Parker. These two men have worked together a long time. They have that brother’s in arms love that evolves regardless of the job performed.

Pine and Foster play well off one another and this works well for the film.  Bridges and Birmingham also fit together nicely as the lawmen who are chasing the bank robbers down. The whole story, regardless of the “familial” theme in the film, feels a bit “Bonnie and Clyde.”

The robbers take “small pickings” to keep the cops guessing and to make taking them that bit more difficult.  It ends in a sort of stalemate situation that feels very “western” in nature and overall the film is entertaining.

The Long Winded Verdict

Hell or High Water is a solid 5 star film. This is a modern western with tinges of the great depression added on. The performances are solid and the director manages to pay homage to other “modern” western/cop films.

Towards the very end of the film, Tanner is driving up to stage his final stand. The area and the path leading to the hills looks much like the beginning of the Donald Segel film. Coogan’s Bluff.

This shot alone shows an awareness of a cross-genre film that also takes place in the desert. Although the 1968 film starts in Arizona and ends on New York.  Mackenzie clearly loves these types of films and applies himself accordingly.

Catch this one if you can. If for no other reason that to see Jeff Bridges ply his magic several times in the film. The film is rated ‘R’ and has some nudity, a little sex and violence. There is some gore but it is not overly intrusive. There is not an overabundance of viscera. It is streaming on Paramount + right now.

The Trailer