Brotherly love
By Jonathan Kane
The new neo-Western movie “Hell or High Water” strives for greatness but falls just short – instead delivering a really good chase movie.
There are many things that make it really good but first and foremost is the outstanding performance by Jeff Bridges as the salty, about-to-retire Texas lawman hot in pursuit of a couple of bank robbers who happen to be brothers.
Bridges nails it, as he seemingly always does, capturing the spirit of West Texas down to the smallest detail. Also delivering fine performances, as the brothers, are Chris Pine, the smarter and saner of the two, and Ben Foster as the ex-con that has nothing to lose. Last but not least is Gil Birmingham as the Comanche Mexican sidekick to Bridges and target of his off-color insults.
The brothers are on a vengeance mission against Texas Midland, a bank that seeks to foreclose on their mother’s farm. It’s hard not to think of another Texas bank robber movie – “Bonnie and Clyde” – which painted banks as the enemy.
Smartly hitting the banks early in the morning and only taking small, unmarked bills, the brothers slowly accumulate the nut needed to save the farm for Pine’s two boys and his divorced wife.
These scenes are some of the best in the film and Bridges saves his best work for the climactic gunfight that thankfully avoids the cliché.
Based on a screenplay by Taylor Sheridan (author of the excellent “Sicario”), the film is beautifully directed by Englishman David Mackenzie who captures the despair of the dusty towns and the people who inhabit them. Also fine is the photography by Giles Nuttgens, even though filmed in New Mexico.
This all adds adds up to a movie well worth seeing.