FILM REVIEW: HELL OR HIGH WATER

(Google Images)

The bank robbers: brains and beauty embodied by Chris Pine as Toby Howard and the devil-may-care, ex-con characterized by Ben Foster, Tanner Howard, make up the outlaws. Two brothers who have reasons to be driven, but only one who has everything to lose. Each actor captures the nuances beneath the obvious, taking a winding road to very different destinations.

(Google Images)

On the hunt is Marcus Hamilton, the irascible, laconic enforcer (the excellent Jeff Bridges) whose body is overdue for retirement along with his racists views. He's partnered with a younger, more polished compatriot, Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham in a stand-out performance), a Mexican/Native-American deputy, with a resentful conscience. Although Parker respects Hamilton's keen, methodical brain, Parker verbally wrestles with him about the older man's on-going barbs, a match the deputy knows he cannot win or can he?

And we can't ignore the women! Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan's (Sicario) female characters often work against expected stereotypes and boldly assert themselves, especially Margaret Bowman (No Country for Old Men), the T-Bone Restaurant's waitress. When she enters the scene, fasten your seat-belts!

To boot, the actors' mannerisms, physical quirks delineate the characters: we can read their faces without being given the store. Although the director, David McKenzie (Perfect Sense), maintains heightened suspense, who these men are weighs as heavily as what they do. What's more Sheridan's sharp dialogue moves the plot along without detracting from the momentum. The characters drive this story.

Set in West Texas and Oklahoma but filmed in real time, in New Mexico, the backdrop doesn't disappoint. A classic Lincoln whips around curves faster than a tumbleweed as iconic shots grab our attention. Smartly, the director, McKenzie, and his cinematographer, Giles Nuttgens (Perfect Sense), juggle the imagery from the expected--arid, lifeless, dusty plains--to the unexpected--verdant green mesas and jewel-like deserts--which pops in and out with every twist and turn. McKenzie and Nuttgens capture the highs and lows of the landscape while keeping the focus on the action-at-hand. I suspect and hope we'll see this pairing again.

(Google Images)

Hell or High Water's production team does what many writers strive to do: they show more than tell. Jeff Bridges' determined Marcus Hamilton provides necessary details: he loves to tell stories to his deputy and to predict the bank robbers' every move, So in a sense he is a surrogate, albeit minimalist, narrator. In spite of that, his partner and the audience are kept on a need-to-know basis.

Go see this film. What makes this movie remarkable is how the director, McKenzie, keeps the audience guessing as to who to the villains are and who to admonish. And even in the end, a loose string left untied, I welcomed the ambiguity.

Rated R.


PROFESSIONALS, FRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES, please support my weekly blog with a one-time or weekly contribution. I hope to parlay this blog into a paying gig. Please click on link and send what you can. Thank you! paypal.me/WShreve71


Oh, by the way, I'm "auditioning" to be hired as a paid, on-line film critic. I've an encyclopedic memory of movies, casts, story-lines, etc. and have much experience as a copywriter and blogger. Also, I took film criticism with the incomparable, Thelma Adams. Any takers? Clips available upon request. Contact: author@shadowwater.net