by A.J.
You can think of Hell or High Water as a modern day western.
It certainly has the plot, setting, and characters of a western. We follow a
pair of bank robbing brothers and the lawman pursuing them across the dusty
landscape of West Texas and the Texas plains. Hell or High Water doesn’t
reinvent genre, but it doesn’t need to; it’s executed extremely well.
Chris Pine and Ben Foster play the outlaw brothers, Toby and
Tanner, respectively. Pine’s Toby is the quiet, more reserved brother. Foster’s
Tanner, recently released from prison, is the more volatile one. There’s more
to their plan than just grabbing as much money as they can and going on the
run. They have a specific amount to rob from a specific chain of banks, Texas
Midlands Bank, which is set to foreclose on the family home. They will pay
Texas Midlands Bank with money they robbed from its own branches. Toby wants to
make sure that his ex-wife and children will have enough money for a secure
future. Tanner wants to help his brother, and if that means robbing banks, he’s
completely willing.
Jeff Bridges is the heavy hitter among the cast. It’s good
to see Bridges give a great, solid performance in a role that is befitting of
an actor of his talent, instead of the cartoonish roles he’s taken in recent
movies. That’s not to say that Bridges doesn’t bring a certain amount of flair—or
the tough, western man equivalent—to Marcus Hamilton, a surly Texas Ranger on
the brink of retirement. He’s smart enough to catch on to the brother’s plan
and crafty enough to use patience as his method for capturing them. He’ll
figure out which branch they’ll rob next, then sit back and wait for them
to mess up. Working with Hamilton is his half-Mexican, half-Native American
partner, Alberto, who is the subject of relentless racist teasing from
Hamilton. Bridges, however, is adept at portraying Hamilton as a man with an
underlying, genuine affection for his partner that he has to mask with sarcasm. Bridges' Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor comes as no surprise.
There’s a lot of great acting in different styles from the
leads. Bridges and Foster are ostentatious; Pine is more subdued and pensive. The
screenplay by Taylor Sheridan has rightfully received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay; it creates full-fledged characters and successfully
divides our sympathy between both cops and criminals. The climatic
confrontation is intense and thrilling. It’s an action sequence the film earns
by firmly establishing what’s at stake and building the characters. I wanted Toby and Tanner to get away as much
as I wanted Hamilton to catch them. British director David Mackenzie seems to
be the perfect fit for this modern day western. He doesn’t mythologize or
glorify the setting or the characters. These are everyday people dealing with
extraordinary circumstances and the final result is an extraordinary film.
Nominees: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn, producers
Director: David Mackenzie
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster
Production Companies: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, OddLot
Entertainment, Film 44, LBI Entertainment
Distributor: CBS Films, Lionsgate
Release Date: August 12th, 2016
Total Nominations: 4, including Best Picture
Other Nominations: Original Screenplay-Taylor Sheridan,
Supporting Actor-Jeff Bridges, Editing-Jake Roberts
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