[yasr_overall_rating]
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family’s farm in West Texas.
“Hell or High Water” is that rare American gem that occasionally surfaces, shows its face, and then disappears back into the void. It opens on Friday, August 12th in limited release and sadly, I can already see its lifespan: a brief appearance at mainly independent film theaters around the U.S. with a quick bow on Blu-ray and DVD in the coming months. It has received rave reviews, including this one, but it is not a summer blockbuster, it is an adult thriller with no reliance on special effects and/or huge explosions. Instead, we are treated to a movie that is brimming with first-rate performances from all involved, sophisticated and cultivated storytelling, and deft direction from a filmmaker who up until now, has worked mainly in true independent cinema. Hopefully, the powers-that-be in Hollywood will take notice of David Mackenzie and realize that he is a force to be reckoned with.
The story takes place in a small West Texas town where brothers Toby and Tanner Howard (Chris Pine and Ben Foster respectively) live on farmland that has been in their family for generations. With their mother recently deceased, and the bank getting ready to foreclose on the property, Toby wants desperately to look after his two young sons, who live with their mother. With no work in town and nothing but a bleak future ahead of him, as a last resort, he suggests to Tanner that they rob a few local banks, and take just enough money to pay off the balance on the farm so he can leave everything to his boys. Tanner is an ex-con who is just out of prison and loves his younger brother and has no hesitation whatsoever in agreeing to help him. While he is short-tempered and trigger-happy, Toby is decent and straightforward and feels immoral for even having to resort to bank robbery but with no options left, he is determined to provide for his family, any way he can.
Unbeknownst to them, after they rob their first bank, Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) take the case and with Marcus on the verge of retirement, and having not seen any action in some time, he is only too happy to be back in the saddle again. As Toby and Tanner keep their robberies local, choosing wisely to stay away from the bigger city banks, Marcus determines a particular trajectory that he believes they will follow, and as they actualize his intuition, little do they know that their actions will result in a deadly showdown, where the old and new West will collide, with explosive consequences.
“Hell or High Water” is exceptionally authentic, from the West Texas accents and gloriously-shot barren landscapes, to the mannerisms and eccentricities of each character, everything about the film feels utterly real, nothing feels forced. The drama and occasional much-needed humor that transpires throughout the movie, has that rare quality of actual emotion, where you forget that you’re watching a film and feel like you’re in the restaurant with them, or in the bank, or in the getaway car. Writer Taylor Sheridan, who also penned this year’s stellar “Sicario,” proves very adept at normal everyday things, from conversation and interaction, to the quiet moments in between, and like David Mackenzie, the movie’s director, he is an accomplished writer who knows his craft and knows it well.
The film reminded me very much of director John McNaughton’s 1993 thriller, “Mad Dog and Glory,” starring Robert De Niro, Bill Murray and Uma Thurman. Not in terms of story content, but rather the abrupt change in overall tone. One minute you’re caught up in engaging dialogue, the next, brutal, unflinching violence, and then on to humor. Make no mistake, “Hell or High Water” is absolutely unyielding in its ferocity but thankfully, it balances out with some very funny laugh-out-loud moments.
There was only one aspect that bothered me, and that was the fact that the entire film was actually shot in New Mexico. Not one scene was filmed in Texas, and that’s where I give kudos to director David Mackenzie, I have lived in Texas for over twenty years now and have traveled through many small towns like the one depicted in the movie and I honestly thought it was filmed somewhere out west. Texas needs to work on its film incentives, if it doesn’t want future movies, especially those that are supposed to take place within this great state, to go someplace else.
In theaters Friday, August 12th
