 Director: David Mackenzie Starring: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster Studio: Lionsgate Genre(s):Western Rated: R (For some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality) |
Whether we want to admit it or not, we all think about the
future. We worry about our financial
security, what our life will be worth when all is said and done, and sometimes
we just simply worry about what we are going to do with our time when our last
days approach. “Hell or High Water”
tells the story of three people. In many
ways they are all completely different.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the only reason they have
anything to do with one another is circumstance. When you look closer these three men are more
alike than they will ever realize, all caught up on opposite sides of a
conflict for very similar reasons at the end of the day. In what way they will never know. They are too close to see what is right in front
of their own faces. We as the audience,
however, sit farther away, and are able to see a bigger picture (the kind that
can only be seen from the outside).
On one side we have two brothers, who have been put in a desperate situation, and are forced to rob banks to get out of it. On the other side we have a Texas Ranger, the man who is tasked with finding the two boys and bringing them to justice. On the surface these three would have little to do with each other aside from the bank heists that intertwine their lives together. Take a look deeper though, and they are more alike than they give credit for. You have Toby (Chris Pine), who is about to lose the family ranch to a bank that took advantage of them in some loan deals he was forced to take when she got sick. He is the one who comes up with the plan to rob the banks that stole from his family. His older brother, Tanner (Ben Foster), is an ex-convict who knows how to execute a plan and agrees to help just because they are family. On the other end you have Marcus (Jeff Bridges), who has been in law enforcement for many years and is about to retire.
What these three men have in common is that they are all
worried for their futures. They don’t know
what will happen. They don’t know how they
will react to the unknown. All they know
is that they are all living on the edge and this is all they can do to stay
afloat. Toby may have come up with the
grand plan, but he is no criminal. He is
an average person who has been pushed in a corner. He is willing to put his own life at risk so
long as his kid’s future can be secured.
Tanner has little interest in the money he is stealing, but his little
brother needs help, and this is what he is good at. He is not afraid of death because he has
enough of a record to insure he has no future, and if he is going to go out, he
is going to go out helping family.
Finally, Marcus is nearing retirement and concerned about it. Catching these boys may be the last truly
worthwhile thing he does, right before he spends the rest of his days watching
football and drinking beer.
For all three, the future is uncertain. For all three, there is no easy answer. For all three, all they can do is move
forward, finishing the plan they have picked for themselves and hoping for the
best. When the three do come in contact
with each other there is no person to root for, mainly because no one is
entirely right or wrong about the situation at hand. The movie is filmed in modern day Texas, with
modern day fears about banks and how they steal peoples land, yet it plays out
like a classic western. In fact, with
this film we may have discovered a way for the western genre to continue to
thrive in a world of computer animated superheroes. For many the genre died because it was unable
to adapt to modern times. With “Hell or
High Water,” a subtle way may have been found to update the genre while keeping
it true to its roots.
It is said that the screenplay was high on the Black List in
2012, meaning this was considered the best unproduced script for several
years. Watching the movie I can’t help
but wonder why on Earth it took so long to get off that list. Why did it have to be on there at all? It is a sad state of affairs when Hollywood
lets something like this sit in a drawer collecting dust. Ah heck, at least we have it now. Working as both a high octane heist thriller
and a deeply personal character drama, “Hell or High Water” hits every note a
movie like this needs to, down to it’s last, haunting frame, where the men come
face-to-face with the ramifications of everything, and are still, sadly, unable
to grasp what it all means thanks to their inability to step back.
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is VERY strong violence, some lanuage, a sexual assault, and some brief male nudity. Recommended for ages 17 and up.
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