HELL OR HIGH WATER (2016)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2017 David N. Butterworth

*** (out of ****)

West Texas. Not quite New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. Crappy sedans, dust-bowl diners, Shiner Bock in long-necked bottles, bum steers, and few
jobs to speak of, a hell of a hole to call home. But home it is to
brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster) Howard. Well, Tanner's
just back from a ten-year stretch in the county lock-up, so he's not seen
much of the place lately. And Toby's separated from his wife and two young boys, although he swears he'll do right by them, come "Hell or High Water."
As David Mackenzie's modern-day Western kicks into gear, the brothers are already knee-deep in a lawless effort to reclaim the family farm from the
Texas Midlands Bank, eager to foreclose. Enter Texas Ranger Marcus
Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and his long-suffering partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham), a mismatched pairing at the best of times--Marcus likes to
taunt Alberto on his Mexican-Comanche "half breed" ancestry--but one that's promised to bring the boys to justice. Happy endings, it seems, are not something West Texas is known for. Pretty Pine presents well as usual, and I've always liked Foster, who seems drawn to these kinds of projects, or at least to the kind in which he gets to play deep-end crazy. Bridges himself secured a seventh Academy Award nomination for his fine supporting role
here, even though the statuette ultimately went to "Moonlight"'s Mahershala Ali. "Hell or High Water" might not offer the most original plotting of
the year, but "Sicario" scribe Taylor Sheridan's peckerwood dialogue and
sharp characterizations more than atone. Coupling that with strong performances and a stellar score--from bad seed Nick Cave with collaborator Warren Ellis--makes the whole trip out West worthwhile.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterworthdavidn@gmail.com

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