Two years before the debut of his hit series Yellowstone, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan collaborated with director David Mackenzie on Hell or High Water.
This low-budget film punched above its weight, grossing $37.9 million worldwide on a $12 million budget.
It was also critically acclaimed and received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Jeff Bridges.
Watch With Us are big fans of the Western crime film, which just left Netflix and is currently streaming on Peacock. If you’re a subscriber, do yourself a favor and watch one of the best crime-thrillers of the last decade.
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‘Hell or High Water’ Captures the Spirit of the Modern Western
Although the cinematic term for Hell or High Water‘s genre is neo-Western, calling it a modern Western is perhaps a better way to describe it. It takes place in Texas in the present, but it also goes to great lengths to demonstrate that this isn’t the wild, wild west anymore, and bank robbers rarely get away with their loot. Brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner Howard (Ben Foster) think they’ve found a way to change the equation when it comes to bank robberies.
Their plan is solid, but they overlooked the part about their fellow Texans packing heat and shooting at them like it really is the old west again. This isn’t a film with wall-to-wall action, but the shootouts are intense and often lead to bad outcomes for the participants. But the most impressive thing about the way the movie captures the spirit of the modern Western is the sense of desperation in the Howard brothers and nearly everyone they meet. This world wasn’t designed to allow them to survive and thrive.
The Performances Are Outstanding
Out of the entire cast, only Bridges was Oscar-nominated for his role as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton. He’s very good as the old law dog who’s counting his days towards retirement, but not necessarily because he wants to. Marcus jumps at the chance to investigate the Howard brothers’ robbery spree, and he seems to appreciate the chase. He also mercilessly taunts his partner, Texas Ranger Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham), just enough to make you question if they really like each other. But the film does reaffirm their bond in one of its best moments.
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The power of Bridges’ performance shouldn’t overshadow the work that Pine and Foster do in this film. Pine is terrific as the more level-headed sibling, Toby, while Foster’s Tanner is a wildcard. For every precaution Toby takes, Tanner is there making one bad decision after another that may destroy their scheme before they’re able to see it through to completion. That raises the tension between them, and yet the movie repeatedly demonstrates their brotherly bond. They’re ride or die, even when they’re angry at each other.
The Ending Lives Up to What ‘Hell or High Water’ Is About
I’m not going to give away the ending of Hell or High Water, except to say that the grand conclusion isn’t an epic shootout. The finale of the violence happens far sooner than the end of the movie, but it raises the stakes going into the closing minutes of the story.
The strange thing is that the movie doesn’t really end when the story does. There’s an invitation that’s taken very seriously by both sides, which could potentially be lethal for everyone involved. And yet we don’t see that confrontation play out. Instead, the ambiguous nature of the ending makes it even more appropriate for this modern Western. Nothing is ever tied up too neatly, and the struggle to survive is always going to play out, even if only in our imaginations after the film is over.
Hell or High Water is now streaming on Peacock.
