The contemporary heist Western Hell or High Water comes from British director David MacKenzie (the violent prison film Starred Up), who gives us a rather bleak picture of an economically depressed dustbowl area in rural Texas, where family farms are falling into disuse and disrepair and the roads are lined with signs offering debt relief.
When the bank threatens to foreclose on their family farm, the Howard brothers turn to robbing banks to try and reverse their fortunes. Tanner (Ben Foster, from Inferno) is a volatile career criminal recently released from prison while Toby (Chris Pine, from the rebooted Star Trek series) is a divorced father of two and a former gas company worker. They feel that the bank has cheated them out of their land just as oil has been discovered, so they choose to rob only local branches of that bank. They choose small rural branches, and strike early in the morning when there are few customers. They clean out only the tellers’ tills, making the money harder to trace.
Written by actor turned scriptwriter Taylor Sheridan (the superb war-on-drugs thriller Sicario) Hell or High Water is another gritty example of Texan noir exploring the lawlessness of the modern American frontier, and it will remind audiences of Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (which also featured Foster), Walter Hill’s Extreme Prejudice and the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men.
MacKenzie brings an outsider’s jaundiced perspective to the grim setting. As the film moves towards its inevitable showdown, MacKenzie suffuses the film with a slowly developing air of dread, which is enhanced by the moody and foreboding score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The film has been beautifully shot by cinematographer Giles Nuttgens (Swimfan), who brings a sort of rugged poetry to the screen. He uses the widescreen effectively to capture the wide open spaces, the sense of isolation, the near empty towns, and the desolate landscapes of rural Texas. Some of the scenes were shot in the same small Texan town where Peter Bogdanovich shot the 70s classic The Last Picture Show, which starred a much younger Bridges.
At its heart though Hell or High Water is an exploration of complex male relationships. We get the contrast between the two brothers, who are forced into a life of crime by economic circumstances, and Marcus, who expresses his relationship to Alberto through insults and racist put downs. They develop a prickly chemistry.
Sheridan has created three-dimensional and well-rounded characters here, brought to life by a superb cast. A laid back Bridges brings a world weary quality, a wry and droll humour, and a sense of fatal resignation to his performance that seems perfectly suited to his reading of Hamilton, a character that has become a staple of his repertoire of late. He relishes the role here and gives a wily and grounded performance that is amongst his best work. However he has a tendency to mumble his dialogue which renders much of what says hard to understand. Pine and Foster are also very good as the brothers and they manage to elicit sympathy from the audience. Pine brings a decency to his role as the introverted and quiet Toby, while Foster brings a dangerous edge to his performance as Tanner, who is something of a loose cannon. Both Pine and Foster have charm to spare and they develop a palpable chemistry.
Director: David McKenzie
Cast: Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges
Release Date: 27th, October 2016
Rating: MA 15+
Greg King
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television