Hell or High Water (2016)

Wonderful character development!

Simply Perfect

Excellent but underrated film

best movie i've ever seen.

While 'Hell Or High Water (2016)' has a few overwrought and oddly expositional moments, it's an excellent heist thriller that uses its palpable sense of place and brilliantly well-realised characters to totally compound you within its incredibly realistic and wonderfully tactile world. It immerses you in the dusty planes of a 'Neo-Western' New Mexico with confidence and ease. There's a lot to unpack thematically, from the phenomenal mirror-image brother relationships to the thinly veiled political message, and most moments, even the exciting and genuinely tense 'action' sequences, are conveyed with a subtlety that makes for a much quieter, more character-driven affair than usual. It has proper stakes and emotionally affecting moments of all kinds, and it certainly leaves a lasting impression. 8/10

When a film that is loudly and ostentatiously set in Cowboy Texas is actually filmed in neighboring New Mexico you know the director has a shaky grasp on his materials. When I saw Hell Or High Water in the theater I thought it was about two alcoholic idiots who sit on porches drinking beer before going out and committing violent acts. Seeing it recently on cable tv I realized it's actually about THREE alcoholic idiots who sit on porches drinking beer before going out and committing violent acts. Pine and Foster sling credible Southern accents, which is astonishing in a Hollywood film. Jeff Bridges merely regurgitates the accent and attitude of his last two movies, Crazy Heart and True Grit. (It was wearing thin in True Grit.) There are a number of good, funny, evocative lines in the film, most of them spoken by passers-by. The final scene is, however, a standout. It comes about an hour and thirty-nine minutes into a movie that runs an hour and forty-two minutes. The soundtrack is a good one. Watch the trailer, buy the soundtrack is my advice.

On the face of it this is a standard cops-and-robbers bank heist tale, with a chalk/cheese pair of protagonists and a cliche edge-of-retirement lawman to give chase.The script here though is sharper than your average. Jeff Bridges (on form) as the lawman, pulls out zingers a-plenty and there's generally plenty of black humour to go around. A deft melding of the ol' Slow West (gun) stock with a modern layering of dead-end ghost towns and bank foreclosures: the huge Texan landscapes & skies, both entirely empty, the camera snaps up whenever the opportunity arises, the moody score (when not dipping into Country-Rock) and dialogue all contributing to the very definite feel of a moody mourning, like something in this world is lost or broken.Old fashioned American film-making, albeit from a Scottish director, I found this is a little lethargic to get going but by the end I was completely sold.

One of the most critically acclaimed films of 2016 and nominated for four Oscars, 'Hell or High Water' also had an intriguing idea, a talented cast with Jeff Bridges being a particular attraction and a script by ace writer Taylor Sheridan (writer for the brilliant 'Sicario', and went on to direct one of the most promising directorial debuts of 2017 with the recent 'Wind River').'High or High Water' was not a let down in any way. One of the finest films of 2016 and to me all its four Oscar nominations were among the year's most deserving (Bridges' nomination for Best Supporting Actor should have been a strong contender for winning). It is not the most original of stories sure, but that did not matter at all because it executed all its components impeccably and still had its share of surprises. It does have a slow start somewhat but not in any way a want-to-switch-it-off way.Along with 'La La Land' (it has become popular to hate that film, loved it personally), 'Hell or High Water' was one of the year's best-looking films. It has a rustic Western look in terms of setting that is very effectively evoked and it is stunningly shot. It should have been a contender for Best Cinematography, but at least got some recognition for the concise editing.The rip-roaring, at times hauntingly elegiac and at other times rousing, soundtrack enhances everything going on on screen. That one of the best scores that year was not even nominated and the pretty awful score for 'Jackie' (one of the worst things about a disappointing film) was even to a very subjective reviewer, who absolutely despises the "I don't understand..." and all its various other just as clichéd, overused and abused variations, is not easy to fathom.Best Original Screenplay was very much deserving, with Sheridan once again striking gold with a snappy, smart and tightly structured script. While meditative in pacing, the story is nonetheless absorbing and surprisingly rich in its complexity. It's also intricately told and with a mix of the hard-edged and the elegiac.David Mackenzie does a remarkable job directing, getting the most out of the story and atmosphere and bringing out the best of his cast. Chris Pine's lead performance is one of his best, but it's the supporting cast that shine more.Ben Foster, in a role that is the polar opposite to Pine's and perhaps the slightly more interesting, is a revelation, even more is an astounding Jeff Bridges who completely disappears into his role to unforgettable effect. One must also single out Gil Birmingham, who really wrenched the heart in this year's 'Wind River' and gives a different but every bit as wonderful turn here.In conclusion, wonderful film and a 2016 highlight. 10/10 Bethany Cox