After seeing Warcraft and now Hell or High Water, Ben Foster
should really stick to Westerns.
Hell or High Water starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff
Bridges, Gil Birmingham, written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by David
Mackenzie. The way the movie is directed and the story told I’ll be looking for
David Mackenzie’s next film. Hell or High water is about two brothers, Pine and
Foster, who set out to rob banks for a specific reason. Bridges and Birmingham
are the Texas Rangers tasked with tracking them down. This is all you should know
before going into the movie because of how the story develops.
There isn’t much not to like about Hell or High Water. The
story is expertly told and develops at the perfect pace. For the first half of
the movie you don’t know why the brothers are pulling the bank jobs, but you
know there is a reason. It is revealed at the perfect spot in the movie after
the plot has developed. It kept me engaged and wondering why Pine’s character,
Toby, was going along and planning the jobs. You get the feeling Foster’s
character, Tanner, is doing it for his brother, but also just because he doesn’t
have anything better to do. He does it for the thrill and rush. Toby is in it
for a specific purpose and he sees no other options. Tanner also brings some
practicality to what the job entails. He has no illusions about the consequences
of his actions, and plans accordingly. You are invested in wanting the brothers
to get away with the crime, but at the same time you want Bridges and
Birmingham to catch them. I never truly knew if the brothers were or were not
going to get away with the crimes. The film keeps you guessing, and while a few
story points might be easy to figure out it is done in such a way that keeps
you riveted to the screen.
This is also helped along with the dialogue from the script.
The movie is naturally funny at parts. The theater I was in was laughing during
many scenes in the film. You believe Foster and Pine are brothers because of
their interactions and the conversations they have with one another. Bridges
has most of the funny lines and delivers them expertly, teasing his partner throughout
the entire movie with Native American jokes. The film has a very tight script and it seems
everything is used to move the story forward. Since Taylor Sheridan also wrote
Sicario it shouldn’t be surprising this was such an intriguing story. Sheridan
hopefully will be getting many more of his scripts read after Sicario’s
reception and now this. He has a movie he wrote and directed coming out next
year according to IMDB called Wind River. From his previous work, this goes
onto a list of movies to watch out for next year.
Everything comes together well in the film and all of the
main performances are fantastic. Pine easily sheds his Captain Kirk persona and
loses himself in the poor drill worker for Western Texas. Foster always seems
to be at his best when he is playing a character slightly unhinged and he does
this well again. Bridges is once again fantastic and plays a great aging Texas
Ranger who is being forced to retire. Birmingham plays off of Bridges well and
you easily buy into their working friendship. All of the actors do a great job
and draw you into the story with their performances.
I have a couple of small problems with the film. One is the
story hits you over the head about the evilness of banks one too many times.
There is one scene in particular that wasn’t needed and was too on the nose for
how well the rest of the story was told. Take this one scene out and it is
otherwise a nearly flawless piece of storytelling. The only other small
complaint would be how artsy Mackenzie got with his shot selection at times. I
liked most of the long tracking shots he did and other elements he used, but
there were a few times a close-up or a certain shot of a car took me out of the
movie. These are still extremely minor gripes for an otherwise excellent film.
I loved this movie, and can’t wait to watch it again. I grew
up in the same region this film was shot in, and watching it greatly reminded
me of my Grandma’s farm and the small town near it. So, I could have loved this
more because of the setting it is filmed in. Hell or High Water is a new age
Western and is a welcome addition to the genre. If you are fan of any type
Western this movie is a must see. If you are just a fan of movies this film is
just plain Worth Seeing. Go out to the theater and buy tickets and support it,
or rent it when it is available. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
If you have seen Hell or
High Water let me know what you thought of it. If not are you a fan of Western’s
or Neo-Western’s? Comment and let me know some of your favorites. Add another
besides No Country for Old Men. That’s too easy
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