Netflix will soon be whisking away the compelling, gorgeous thriller that put Taylor Sheridan on the Hollywood map long before “Yellowstone” and “Landman” became household names.
Before it departs the streaming service on May 1, “Hell or High Water” (2016) belongs at the top of your queue. It is a modern Western brimming with characters you can’t help but adore — even if they do and say some ugly things — and there are plenty of reasons why it sits at a stellar 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What is 'Hell or High Water' about?
Starring Chris Pine as Toby Howard and Ben Foster as his brother, Tanner, the film follows these bank robbers as they careen from branch to branch across West Texas. Their motives soon become clear: following their mother’s death, the Howards discover she had taken out a reverse mortgage on the family ranch, and the bank has already begun the process of foreclosing. To stop the clock and save their land, the brothers must pay off the entire $43,000 debt by a razor-thin deadline.
On their heels is Marcus (Jeff Bridges), a grumpy but savvy Texas Ranger on the verge of retirement. Alongside his Mexican-Comanche deputy, Alberto (Gil Birmingham), Marcus tracks the Howards’ trail of violent robberies, interviewing witnesses while exchanging the kind of "jousting" jokes that bring a gritty, lived-in texture to the film’s dialogue.
Sparkling dialogue and chemistry complement a strong story
Written by Sheridan and directed by David Mackenzie, the film boasts two duos crackling with chemistry. Bridges and Birmingham are bristling Ranger vets who don’t take BS from each other, but it’s clear their friendship is bolstered by how often they poke each other in the ribs.
Foster plays Tanner as the wild, unpredictable brother, while Pine brings kindness and gravitas to the role of the family man with an ex and kids he wants to continue to support. As disparate as their personalities may be, their on-screen energy crackles with a realism you can’t help but enjoy. Tanner isn’t always the gentlest bank robber, but you still empathize with what he’s trying to do for his family, as the film channels Robin Hood’s steal-from-the-rich mentality to frame their bank-robbing spree as something more than criminals getting their kicks.
Sheridan’s strength as a writer who lets a character’s speech dictate their emotional state crops up in “Hell or High Water.” He gives Pine some of the more introspective lines: “I've been poor my whole life, like a disease passing from generation to generation. But not my boys, not anymore.”
Foster’s sharp tongue isn’t just levelled at tellers who are slow to give him the cash he wants, but also playfully hits back at his brother. When Toby doesn’t buy Tanner a Dr. Pepper at the gas station but instead gets him a Mr. Pibb, Tanner shoots back, “Only a--holes drink Mr. Pibb.”
When Marcus shares a hunch about the bank robbers’ next stop, he says to his partner, “This is what they call white man’s intuition.” His partner retorts, “Sometimes a blind pig finds a truffle.”
There aren’t rolling-in-your-seat jokes but flashes of cheeky humor you’d expect from grizzled Texans who don’t take themselves too seriously.
Scenic views amid the criminal chaos
“Hell or High Water” has won acclaim for being more than a cops-and-robbers thriller. The gorgeous shots of the landscape are alluring and memorable, especially in a scene where we only see the shadows of the Howards joshing around with each other under a sunset sky. Despite being set in Texas, though, most of the scenes were filmed in New Mexico.
The opening tracking shot is especially compelling due to some telling graffiti on the wall of a bank during the 20-second oner: "3 tours in Iraq, but no bailout for people like us” hints at the kind of destitution wrought by generational poverty and why so few witnesses to the bank robberies want to help the Rangers. They see the banks as deserving victims of whatever hostility comes their way.
For all you Sheridan fans, an Easter Egg he planted in this movie is a small cameo: Spot him as the cowboy herding his cattle away from a brush fire.
“Hell or High Water” benefits from both strong acting and authentic dialogue, and also gives a peek into the type of entertainment Sheridan would bring to “Yellowstone,” “Landman” and now “Marshals.” It might not be as addictive as those shows, but it acts as a perfect entry-point into his world of raucous rebels and acerbic sheriffs.
Watch "Hell or High Water" on Netflix until May 1
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