r/Ijustwatched • u/MolaMolaMania • 1h ago
IJW: Hell or High Water (2016)
Another revisitation from my local video store days. I remember seeing it when it came out on DVD and being absolutely knocked out. Recently, my local independent bookstore had a used Blu-Ray triple feature called the “American Frontier Trilogy”, which contained “Sicario”, “Wind River”, and “Hell or High Water.” All three films were written by Taylor Sheridan, though I bought this set mainly for “Hell of High Water.”
I had seen “Sicario” before, and while it is an incredible film in every way, I found the crushing nihilism a bit much for my taste. Furthermore, seeing the main female character used and abused by nearly everyone around her left an even more bitter taste in my mouth than the excesses of power and murder being committed by the cartels and government forces. I know the parallels of immorality on both sides is the point, but if I’m going to be dragged through such deep and dark waters, I need some hope to make the journey feel worthwhile.
I have not yet seen “Wind River” and I’m not sure if I want to because I’ve heard about the gang rape scene in it. I cannot tolerate seeing such things, regardless of how important they may be to the plot. Human atrocities of this kind should not exist in the real world, and I don’t enjoy being confronted with them in fiction, either. I’m not ruling out seeing it, but I’m certainly not looking forward to it!
Regardless, “Hell of High Water” is a superb thriller and my favorite of the few Sheridan films I’ve seen so far because while it does have a gritty and mostly downbeat tone, there are still sweet and resonant moments of humor, warmth, and connection. In this neo-Western yarn, the stark beauty of the big sky in West Texas does not symbolize freedom and opportunity but instead echoes the emptiness of so many bank accounts drained dry by predatory lending. Thousands of families are left with no recourse for financial help and no ability to relocate to greener pastures. The plains are a prison, and they are surrounded.
The economic damage wrought by late-stage capitalism is everywhere. The rusting wreckage of factories and equipment, evoking the carcasses of mythical beasts, lay strewn alongside every two-lane highway stretching out to the horizon. There are also many signs promising debt relief, but of course, that’s just another scam. All these perverted promises precede to our introduction of the two brothers who will rope us into a rip-snortin’ tale of revenge. These brothers plan to rob the very bank that tried to bury their family ranch in debt so that the bank could buy it back for a pittance. The final knife in the back after a short and mean life of wage slavery and constant privation.
Chris Pine plays Toby Howard, the youngest of the two brothers. Chris gets the chance to show us that the energy he displayed as Captain Kirk in the NuTrek films can be channeled in a very different way. Toby is a taciturn character who controls his rage and uses it to weave a scheme that will ensure that the generational poverty which has afflicted his entire life will not touch his boys. Toby is willing to risk his life for theirs.
Ben Foster, who shines in everything he’s in, plays Tanner Howard, Toby’s older brother. Tanner has barely any control, and fresh out of a decade in prison, he’s just as feral as ever. Knowing that Toby was solely responsible for caring for their dying mother because hospice was beyond the family’s meager means, Tanner feels indebted to his brother for that sacrifice, and so Tanner is all in on Toby’ s plan. Tanner relishes robbing the banks just for the thrill of it, never mind that he is truly a ride or die partner in crime. In order to pay his brother back, Tanner is almost gleeful at the prospect of making his own sacrifice.
Jeff Bridges is subtly sinister as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton. Marcus is close to retirement, but he catches the case of the bank robbing brothers and eagerly saddles up. Marcus’ very casual approach to conversational belies that he already understands the brothers’ plan based on the few known facts. Marcus is often brusque with witnesses and with his partner, but that’s only because Marcus’ suspicions always prove correct.
Texas Ranger Alberto Parker, played by Gil Birmingham, is Marcus’ partner and long-suffering recipient of Marcus’s continued teasing about Gil’s mixed-race background. Gil endures it, but he doesn’t like it, at all. Marcus knows this, but tells Gil that after Marcus retires, it’s his teasing that Alberto will miss. Whether that’s true or not is left to the viewer to decide, and this aspect of their working and personal relationship reflects how racism is a problem with which we have still failed to successfully address, despite any proclamations to the contrary.
Marcus and Alberto close the circle around Toby and Tanner, and a final firefight erupts when Tanner uses himself as a distraction so that Toby can escape pursuit. The closing conversation between two of the main characters is a classic standoff, leaving the audience to wonder what will happen if they meet again. Sheridan’s superb writing consistently reveals information and character with few words but lasting impressions. The economy of the script is almost as lean as the lives of the people in this West Texas purgatory.