Hell or High Water (2016)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Hell or High Water (2016) – D. Mackenzie

West Texas seems a burnt out place in this moody thriller (of sorts) from writer Taylor Sheridan and director David Mackenzie. The soundtrack by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave adds dramatically to the effect alongside a well-chosen selection of country twang that fits the West Texas setting.   The plot unfolds slowly with an easy-going air of simplicity.  Two brothers (Ben Foster and Chris Pine) are robbing banks to raise some money for an unknown reason. Two Texas Rangers are tracking them (Gil Birmingham and Jeff Bridges).  The film takes the time to show us their relationships in enough detail so that we see their differing personalities.  But the overall effect is of patient and economic storytelling. Director David Mackenzie (although a Brit) captures the despondent ethos of the local area, where banks and their greed have helped to create and perpetuate poverty and anger.  Eventually, we find out the motivation for the younger brother (Pine), even as we realise that the older brother (Foster) is a psychopath.  Bridges and Birmingham don’t have too much to do except to exchange (loving) insults.  Yet, the result is watchable and rewarding on a sort of primeval level, even if the film doesn’t have too much to say didactically. (An interview with the director and cast suggests they were trying to present reality as ambiguous).  In the end, you probably wouldn’t want to live there but it’s a pleasure to absorb the mood for a couple of hours.