Hell or High Water

Despite my worldwide trending hashtag, #SummerofBummers, I've found August to be a particularly strong and mostly enjoyable month at the movies. Of course if we forgot about the way it started and the still-lingering sting of that disappointment, I feel like I've generally appreciated the films in this last month of summer, more so than June and July. 

This weekend in particular is very very busy, with a lot to choose from. As of the time of writing this, I can't decide if I'm going to try and fit one more film in before the end of the month or not, but I was happy to take one of those special trips to the local indie theater yesterday to catch Hell or High Water. 

This is one of those films that just feels very...professional. I have no strong complaints to throw against it because it seems like everyone on set was very serious about wanting to make a quality film. The modern Western has been doing very well with critics, quickly becoming one of the year's best reviewed movies so I figured to give it priority after the also-excellent, Kubo and the Two Strings. 

Hell or High Water reminds me a lot of Sicario, although the two deal with very different subject matter and I'd hold Sicario a decent amount higher in a personal ranking (but c'mon...it was almost perfect). But the desert location, the focus on realism, and the imagery of large sweeping landscapes of the Wild West all set a mood for the film that is palpable. Our tale begins with two brothers, Tanner (Foster) and Toby (Pine) robbing a bank. Eventually the film unravels the yarn as to why they're robbing banks all while Texas Rangers, including a very funny Jeff Bridges, begin to track the two brothers in an attempt to take them down. All in all, the stakes are decidedly low but this is a much more personal drama than you may anticipate. Also much like Sicario, Hell or High Water has a lot to say and teach us about each of its characters. There are welcomed moments of quiet where we come to find that Hamilton (Bridges) is secretly scared of retirement, or that Tanner is helping his brother because he enjoys the thrill of robbing a bank. 

But where's Chuck Norris?!

"Give us your doughnuts old man!
We're hungry!"

These character moments would be for naught if there weren't great performances behind them, but the movie's main three all do fantastic. I'm not immediately very familiar with Foster, but he plays a slightly unhinged Texan very well. Pine gives what is likely the best performance of his career thus far as the quieter, but smarter brother. Bridges also gives an insanely memorable performance in which he gets to throw around highly racist insults like they're going out of style. Being the great thespian that Bridges is though, you can always subtly tell that the insults is his character's defense mechanism and near the end there's a steep requirement for what the role requires emotionally and Bridges handles it like a professional. 

Being a Western, there's bound to be shoot-outs and chases and director David Mackenzie does a solid job capturing each of these moments. For the sake of sticking with the same comparison, none of them come close to what Sicario was able to accomplish in terms if intensity, but they're exciting all the same. During the film's climax we're treated to some shocking violence that's both hard to watch but full of pivotal character moments. The entire film is graced with some beautiful, saddening, and slightly haunting cinematography of podunk West Texas that almost makes the familiar American landscape seem foreign or fictional. I particularly enjoyed the very final shot which the credits begin to roll over because it was so against the norm of what you expected that I found something so simple, very refreshing. Lastly, the film is suited with an appropriately haunting soundtrack and original score as well. It's nothing I'll listen to in my free time, but for the movie at hand it does wonders. 

"You stand there and hold that post, I'll sit here and grimace on the truck. 90 minutes later, we got ourselves a silent movie!"

Truly my only complaints about the film are that I don't think I find it super re-watchable (that could always change with time) and there were a handful of scenes that seemed superfluous to where they added little character development and didn't seem to assist the plot either. I would have liked the pace to be a bit faster as the film slows considerably at some points, but I'd honestly attribute that from needing to switch my mind from "summer blockbuster" mode to "Oscar season" mode. 

And make no mistake, Hell or High Water will likely be an Oscar contender. 

CONS:

• Something tells me that I won't ever need to watch this film again
• I would have liked the pacing to be a little faster
• Handful of scenes that didn't seem to be necessary
• Could have used a little bit more intensity in robbery scenes

PROS:

• Fantastic performances from the main three. Foster is memorable, Pine is at a career-best, and Bridges is hilarious, but also sad
• Strong cinematography throughout, particularly of the West Texas landscape
• Great action editing makes it easy to follow along and appreciate what's going on. The chase and shoot-out scenes are both fun and intense
• Excellent story overall. It seems very simple at first, but the more it unravels, the smarter it becomes
• Very welcomed moments of character development that help to make each character within the film well-rounded and flawed
• Fitting original score and soundtrack
• A memorable modern Western that feels professional from every angle. It's a well made movie that deserves your attention

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10