In the
grand scheme of things, I’d say Hell or
High Water probably won’t win anything big come Oscar night. However, that’s not to say it isn’t a very good film – it is, and it has a lot
to recommend it. But even without the
big three-way horse race between La La
Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea, it doesn’t quite
feel like the sort of film you picture when you think “Oscar film.”
Early one
morning, with a little fumbling and no fanfare, brothers Toby and Tanner begin
a crime spree, robbing different branches of the same bank across Texas. There’s a strange method that emerges within
their madness, and as reports of their robberies continue to come in, a
close-to-retirement Texas Ranger chases them inexhaustibly, determined to
follow the odd clues they’re leaving to the end of their trail.
While
there is certainly variety in the sorts of movies that get Best Picture
nominations, there’s frequently a certain scope to them – whether in pedigree,
budget, importance, or artistry – that isn’t really on display here. Hell or
High Water is a tightly-crafted, well-directed film with a fine cast all
turning in good work, but it doesn’t have that “prestige” air about it, or
barring that, a “hidden gem” indie
quality. It’s just a film that gets its
job done incredibly well. I don’t hold
that against it, though. On the
contrary; I find it refreshing that an exceptionally well-made “regular” movie
is getting recognized for its quality, even if it’s unlikely to rise to the top
in voters’ minds.
Although
all of the film’s assorted elements come together really well, the screenplay
is – for my money – its best feature.
The characters feel specific yet understated, the dialogue hits all the
right notes, and the plot unfolds with a deft hand. The details of the brothers’ plan are rolled
out slowly, building to an interesting crescendo that’s just excellent to
watch. And even though “grizzled law
enforcement veteran who gets obsessed with a case when he’s this close to retirement” is a fairly
dusty chestnut, the ranger Marcus comes off like a person instead of an
archetype.
On that
last point, part of it is of course down to Jeff Bridges’s engaging
performance. Between his shrewd police
work and his amusing misanthropy, Marcus is a definite win as a character, and
I especially enjoy the back-and-forth between him and his partner Alberto
(played by Gil Birmingham) – it would’ve been easy to hit the same
(entertaining) beat with these two throughout the film, but there’s just enough
additional complexity here to make their relationship even more
interesting. As the brothers, Chris Pine
and Ben Foster also turn in really good work.
They’re by turns funny, rootable, messed-up, and unlikeable, and the
constant of their relationship with one another is the underpinning of the
film. Foster’s more unstable Tanner
catches the eye more readily, but Pine does a nice job navigating Toby’s
complex motivations.
Warnings
Violence,
language, sexual references, and drinking.
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