Hell or High Water
3.5 of 5 stars
Rated R. Directed by David Mackenzie.
Starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Gil Birmingham.
Opens Aug. 19 in Tampa Bay.
Unlike the world, Hollywood basically only has three seasons. Summer — May through August — is the season of big booming, often bombastic, blockbusters. September through December is the industry’s bid for relevance, as the awards season leading up to the Oscars revs into high gear. January through April has the feeling of cleaning out the refrigerator — empty those shelves, maybe try a few new things, though always make room for another round of BBBBs (see above) to return.
No matter how you look at it, in any given season you pretty much know what you’re going to get when visiting your friendly neighborhood multiplex. Not always, of course (no gross generalizations here) but a comfortable reliability seems to be the name of the game here. Which is why the crime drama Hell or High Water appears to be such an anomaly. There are no special effects and little action (except for the occasional bank robbery) — mostly what we get is the reliable tale of two brothers pressed into desperate action for a good cause.
Chris Pine stars as Toby, a divorced father who, along with his loose cannon brother Tanner (Ben Foster) is robbing a series of banks in Texas. On their trail, though taking his own sweet time (since this is that classic “one last case” scenario) is grizzled old sheriff Marcus, played by Jeff Bridges as if he’s been down this particular road a time or two before. Without giving too much away, there is a noble cause — if any crime could be considered noble – for the series of robberies, though things go seriously sideways for a while before ending without things tied up in a neat and tidy bow.
The non-resolution ending turns out to be one of the most unique elements in the whole affair. For the most part, this is Cormac McCarthy (he of No Country for Old Men fame) lite, showcasing male characters lost in the awe and grandeur of the western landscape that attractive stars like Pine or Foster embrace in order to show that they’re also serious actors. Bridges continues to play characters as if they’re chewing on their tongues, and the ornery old cuss act would be getting old real quick if he also didn’t have a way with a well-written line.
Which makes me think that the real star here is screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who has written some of the snappiest dialogue in a movie this year. At one point, Tanner tells Toby, “Only assholes drink Mr. Pibb.” Without a beat, Toby counters, “Drink up.” Another time, Marcus, who is infinitely pleased with himself for a break in the case, tells his deputy, “This is what they call white man’s intuition.” The deputy responds with “Sometimes a blind pig finds a truffle.” A long-ish exchange between the two of them and a no-nonsense waitress (telling them they can only order steak and a baked potato) is one of the highlights of the film.
There are many of them — too many to print here. And they highlight the importance of a good script to any cinematic enterprise. Mostly, though, director David MacKenzie is content to give us long lingering shots of the actors saying the aforementioned dialogue and blending it with equally long meaningful pauses and shots of sunset vistas. Is it enough to make it stand out from everything else offered this blockbuster season? Only time will tell — though it might feel a little too familiar — or not familiar enough, considering what we have come to expect this time of year.
This article appears in Aug 18-25, 2016.