Hors-la-loi

The first time I watched this, I turned it off at about the 5-minute mark. I thought it was another dumb movie about inept country-bumpkins, which would rely on a mixture of slapstick and overly-done sappy and violent scenes in order to create enough of a pull to keep at least some audience members somewhat entertained.

How wrong I was.

I finally sat down and watched it with friends who insisted it was not what it appeared to be within the first few minutes of the film.

Without giving too much away, and having to use a spoiler tag, Hell or High Water is a story about two brothers who after the death of their mother, organize a series of (justified?) bank robberies. What ensues is a catch-me-if-you-can scenario with the pursuing "law" hell-bent on catching them, and them hell-bent on not being caught. In short, it is a typical story of cops and robbers (or so you would think), with an atypical, uncommon and unconventional narrative.

Given the plot, the remote setting and the almost nostalgic atmosphere and ambiance of the film, it is honestly a miracle, and more than a pleasant surprise, just how very gratifying and outstanding this film actually is.

A definite must-watch.

In a year when the quality of life in middle America small towns has come back into focus, "Hell or High Water" feels like an important film, perhaps more important than it might have been had it been released prior to 2016. But it's not just timeliness that makes this a good movie. There are strong performances and strong writing Taylor Sheridan, someone we should definitely be paying more attention.

The "Sicario" writer returns with another tale set near the U.S.-Mexico border, this one following two poor West Texas brothers, Tanner and Toby Howard, one an ex-con (Ben Foster) and the other a divorced father of two (Chris Pine), who start robbing banks for petty cash. Their objective is to make enough money to pay off the bank before it forecloses on their recently deceased mother's ranch, which she willed to her grandsons. The property also happens to be sitting on enough oil to guarantee the boys' future.

With the stolen amounts too small to warrant attention from the FBI, a nearly retired Texas Ranger named Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and his partner, Alberto (Gil Birmingham), are assigned to track down the robbers and the cat-and-mouse game begins.

The characters could be distilled to two outlaw anti-heroes and the ranger on their tail who is about to hang it all up, but Sheridan's script evolves beyond the archetypes and into complicated, ugly territory, which is exactly where he took 2015's "Sicario." Whereas most cops-and-robbers stories have clear good guys and bad guys, this one doesn't.

Foster's Tanner is the wild one who can take things too far and lacks a moral compass, but he's fiercely loyal and devoted to his brother. Pine's Toby seems good through and through, but he has a violent streak and their whole illegal scheme is his idea. Even Bridges' smart, shiny-badged old ranger has a slightly bigoted attitude that often expresses itself to his half-Mexican, half-Native American partner.

All this "gray" makes watching how "Hell or High Water" plays out all the more interesting. We find ourselves rooting for the brothers' success only to have Sheridan execute some jarring turns in the story. Suddenly the stakes get higher and more real, and director David Mackenzie wisely keeps his hands off it all, which actually adds to the shock factor. We never feel comfortable with the violence in the film because it never feels stylish and never becomes commonplace, and that makes the violence that does happen more effective.

There's also a social commentary at play beneath the main thrust of the narrative, which is what really makes Sheridan's work stand out. Race crops up at various points, sometimes subtly and other times less so. At one point, Tanner has a confrontation with a Comanche man at a casino that seems to digress from the story a bit, but it serves the purpose of highlighting differences and animosity between people, and the pervasive "otherness" that causes so many rifts in our society.

That's where the timely factor comes in. It's not just about how these brothers represent the millions of Americans whose small town way of life is going extinct and creating such desperation, it's about how we go after what we want at the expense of other people, and treat others like the enemy. These fears, these attitudes and this desperation is cancerous and, sadly, cyclical.

That's more than you'd expect from a movie about bank robbers, to be sure.

~Steven C

Thanks for reading! Read more at Movie Muse Reviews

With Taylor Sheridan as the writer and David MacKenzie at the helm, I had high hopes for this movie. Both of their last respective projects (Sheridan - Sicario, MacKenzie - Starred Up) were gritty, violent, and engaging. All of those hold true for Hell or High Water.

The main characters, Chris Pine and Ben Foster turn in great performances. Ben Foster plays the ex-con brother. And as usual, he turns in what I think was the best performance of the movie. He has a knack for playing a top notch supporting role, and often times gets overlooked. Chris Pine also nails it as the more straight laced brother. For a pretty boy of Hollywood, his portrayal is authentic. Jeff Bridges also compliments these two well as the older, sort of jaded officer. Both him and Foster even provide a good amount of laughs, but neither overdo it.

The setting of the movie really sets it above others in the genre. I would say this movie is more crime/drama or heist film than Western, but it definitely has a Western vibe due to its northwest Texas setting. The area has been hit hard by the recession, a failing farm industry, and big oil. It all makes the recklessness and danger Foster and Pine engage in that much more enjoyable, and even sort of relatable. The audience can at least sympathize with them as they do what they think is right.

Overall, this film is well worth a watch. It can be put in a league with more recent films like The Town, Drive, and The Place Beyond the Pines.

In a summer (or should that be year or decade) of vapid sequels, remakes, and overblown superhero catastrophes, who would have expected an entertaining, intelligent, well-crafted, suspenseful, character- driven, modern-day western with a brain. Riding on Taylor Sheridan's razor-sharp script and David Mackenzie's nuanced direction, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and (especially) Ben Foster (along with everyone else who appears on the screen) inhabit this film as wryly humorous, heartfelt, vicious, painfully tragic, and realistic members of a society reaping the fruits it has tragically sown. Best film so far this year.

This is definitely the type of simple film that many might dismiss when first hearing about it or seeing the promotional footage of it. What's really surprising about it is the amount of emotional and dramatic weight that it carries. It's not primarily interested in gun fights or car chases. Instead, it's interested in exploring the dynamics of race and culture, and in depicting everyone as flawed individuals who you still feel empathy for. It gives you a portrayal of what poverty and the economy can do, even when never attempting to justify the horrible behavior on display or trying to make excuses for its characters. It's filled with wonderful, thoughtful dialogue while also playing out like a realistic morality tale. The three leads are also fantastic, especially Ben Foster, who deserves to get more roles as the talented character-actor he is. This is highly recommended.