Hell or High Water Review
By David Kempler
Hellish Thieves?
At its outset "Hell or High Water" is quickly established as an old style Western even though it takes place in the present in western Texas. Two brothers, Toby (Chris Pine), and Tanner (Ben Foster) rob a bank, and then a couple more. Toby is the brains while Tanner is the far less calculating of the two. It's Toby's behavior that makes it seem unlikely that they will continue to be successful as times go by. Discipline is not his forté.
Each bank is carefully selected for its perceived vulnerabilities and every robbery is done early in the morning, so as to avoid bigger crowds and therefore more potential people with guns. They have no interest in breaking into vaults. It's all about getting in and out of the bank quickly with as much as they can in as short a time as possible.
Since we have bank robbers, of course there must be people in pursuit of the robbers. Hunting the brothers are Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto (Gil Birmingham), a pair of Texas Rangers. Marcus is the grizzled lawman on his last case before he hangs up his badge, forever. Alberto is more reserved and is an American Indian. Marcus loves making fun of Alberto, partly because of Alberto's heritage.
What separates this from your average shoot-em-up, is the time spent on non-violent confrontations. Director David Mackenzie turns it into a character piece, focusing on the verbal interactions between the players, especially Marcus and Alberto, and their chats with potential witnesses to the crimes, including an especially acerbic talk with a waitress, who doesn't believe in the art of friendly conversation.
What further distinguishes "Hell or High Water" is the blurring between good guys and bad guys. Who are the real bad guys? Who are the real good guys? Mackenzie explores what's going on beneath the surface of the four main characters and it's not strictly a matter of evil bank robbers going around creating mayhem and the good people of the law bringing them to justice. What it is, is a nuanced portrayal of the modern West, with plenty of sympathy and empathy for all concerned, and most importantly, it works.
