Hell or High Water (2016) CBS Films/Action-Drama-Thriller RT: 102 minutes Rated R (some strong violence, language throughout, brief sexuality) Director: David Mackenzie Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan Music: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Cinematography: Giles Nuttgens Release date: August 12, 2016 (US)/August 19, 2016 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, John-Paul Howard, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey, Kevin Rankin, Christopher W. Garcia, Buck Taylor, Gregory Cruz, Margaret Bowman. Box Office: $27M (US)/$37.9M (World)
Rating: ****
In the opening moments of Hell or High Water, graffiti on the wall of a bank parking lot reads “Three tours in Iraq but no bailout for people like us.” There are recurring shots of empty homes in foreclosure, boarded-up businesses and billboards advertising fast cash. These are the times we live in. For some, they’re desperate times. Hell or High Water, a Southern-fried noir piece from British filmmaker David Mackenzie (Starred Up), is a crime drama for the 21st century.
The bank-robbing brothers, divorced dad Toby (Pine, Star Trek) and ex-con Tanner (Foster, The Mechanic), at the center of the action aren’t doing it for thrills. Their crime spree is motivated by the legal hanky-panky the local bank pulled in foreclosing on the family ranch. Their solution is actually quite brilliant. It basically boils down to robbing Peter to pay Peter. The brothers rob only branches of the bank responsible, Texas Midland. They take only the cash in the drawer, no wads or bills over $20. After laundering it at an Indian casino, they pay the bank with their own money. Now that’s what I call ingenuity!
Hot on their trail is Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Bridges, Crazy Heart), an aging lawman on the verge of retirement. He’s an avuncular sort who immediately sees there’s a method to the robbers’ seeming madness. He and his partner, Alberto (Birmingham, the Twilight movies), set out to catch the robbers. They have the kind of relationship where Hamilton can make jokes about Alberto’s Comanche heritage without fear of being punched out.
Some will invariably complain that the middle section of Hell or High Water moves too slowly. I’ll concede there’s a lull in the action, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty space. This is when we learn the brothers’ reasons for robbing the banks. They want to save the family home which, at first glance, doesn’t look like much at all. Stick around, there’s more than meets the eye about this piece of land. We also watch as the two lawman hunt their quarry, staking out the branch Marcus thinks is the next likely target.
Bridges is one of those actors that, like fine wine, keep getting better with age. He brings to Hell or High Water the same gravelly quality he brought to Crazy Heart and True Grit. I’ve always regarded Bridges as one of my favorite actors and that remains true despite his involvement in less-than-stellar projects like RIPD (a guilty pleasure but still), Seventh Son and The Giver. He delivers a quietly commanding performance here. Pine is also very good as the more level-headed of the brothers. He’s the one that devised the plan. Gone is the cocky, smirky quality with which he imbues his Captain Kirk. It shows he’s maturing as an actor. Foster, who specializes in loose cannon characters, does a fine job as the volatile brother. He’s a powder keg waiting to go off.
The movie’s Texas setting (it was actually shot in New Mexico, but never mind) is a real asset. Mackenzie makes great use of the barren landscapes, shuttered properties and gun-toting citizens. Since the Lone Star state has an open-carry law, it’s a given civilians will try and take the law into their own hands. But here’s the thing. The robbers aren’t presented as villains. In these times, the bankers are the bad guys. As such, the brothers are shown as sympathetic characters. We end up rooting for them. Even Marcus admires them but he has a duty he’s sworn to uphold.
Much of Hell or High Water plays like a Cormac McCarthy story, No Country for Old Men in particular. It’s a welcome break from the noise and flash of the big summer movies. It’s quieter, subtler and smarter than (almost) anything you’re likely to see at the multiplexes. Even the heist scenes are comparably subdued. Mackenzie, working from a script by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario), doesn’t try to outdo the likes of Heat or any of its imitators. That’s not to say it’s without any big scenes. The car chase at the end involves, at one point, a machine gun. Hell or High Water is a modern-day western where the bank robbers elicit the support of the audience. You want to see them get away with their crimes because the underlying cause is right. Welcome to the new millennium.
