Click here for film reviews by Shannon Griffiths
Following two brothers who carry out a series of bank robberies in order to save their family farm and the partnered Texas rangers hot on their trail comes Hell or High Water, an exceptionally well-written heist thriller turned drama helmed by indie director David Mackenzie. Forced to try and make money the impractical way whilst asking the question ‘is justice really a crime?’, this modern western earns its widespread critical acclaim instantaneously as a simple story of good people doing bad things in the name of survival matures into one of the best films of the last decade.
With its deliberately slow paced tone, emotional richness and incredibly well developed characters playing perfectly into the hands of seasoned actors Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster, all is paid off effectively well as the three share the lead in brilliantly complex performances, disappearing into their respective characters, resulting in a finished film that will leave you one part entertained and the other impressed.
In West Texas, newly divorced father Toby Howard (Pine) and younger brother Tanner (Foster) come together after years apart when their mother unexpectedly dies. With their family ranch now in debt due to a reverse mortgage and facing foreclosure on the property if not paid off in a few days, the two hatch a last-ditch scheme to execute a string of early morning bank robberies, targeting specifically the bank chain threatening foreclosure on their family land. Planning well ahead and seemingly taking every obstacle into account, the brothers aim for small-scale robberies over the course of a few days, taking only what they need.
Using casinos as cover and as a means to convert their haul into untraceable funds, they begin their heist quite successfully until senior Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Bridges) – mere weeks away from retirement – and half Comanche partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) catch wind of what’s going on and begin hunting them down. Toby having recently discovered oil on the land and planning to sell the oil rights in order to secure a contented life for his sons, his commitment to pulling off the job fast with as little violence as possible is put to the test as his brother becomes a source of frustration where his unpredictability and wild nature become a problem that soon accelerates into a tense showdown between outlaw and law with the full force of a hard as nails Ranger looking for one last grand pursuit before hanging up the badge, lending itself well to the riveting thrills that follow.
Writer Taylor Sheridan somehow does the near impossible, outdoing himself from his work on last year’s Sicario, delivering a screenplay filled with razor sharp, quick-witted dialogue that exudes sophistication. Going two for two in striking excellence, his script here the winner of 2012’s Black List (an annual survey of the most liked motion picture screenplays not yet produced), he opts for a slow build up of tension that sets a gritty and realistic tone. Taking time with each character – painting them not only as individuals but remarkably interesting people, all are brilliantly well developed in such a refreshing way with an excellent cast to match.
Pine is like a fine wine that keeps getting better with age in perhaps his best role yet. Having already proven his dominance and diversity as a true movie star in previous projects this year, here he displays true range and complexity as a real actor’s actor, fully immersed in the role of Toby, a mild-mannered man in the wrong place at the wrong time just trying to do right by his family, not wanting to but fully prepared to do undesirable things to get there.
Bridges is at his best, potentially looking down the barrel of his next Oscar as the mumbling, determined and downright excellent ranger Marcus connecting the clues and attempting to serve justice while Foster becomes front-runner for his first as best supporting actor no doubt, playing Tanner -completely unrecognisable and utterly perfect as the on-edge and unstable younger brother with a criminal past who will stop at nothing and take down anyone he has to in order to accomplish the mission.
As far as side characters go, Birmingham as Alberto is the perfect pairing to Bridge’s Marcus as the two exchange banter and a certain back and forth so good you didn’t realise you needed it, giving all cinematic buddy cop duo’s a run for their money. It’s the supreme chemistry of all four actors, the unwavering humour throughout and the high calibre level of clever filmmaking that make this an edge of your seat honest look at the old west of American society. Packaged together greatly with fine sets, an appropriate score and just the right amount of action, this tale of cops and robbers is as suspenseful as it gets and may even be the best picture 2016 has put out thus far.
You be the judge – Come hell or high water, is justice a crime?
