Hell or High Water (2016) - Outskirts men revolt in Mackenzie and Sheridan's excellent crime drama

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Earthy, bright hues color this poster for David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water

A couple of middle-aged brothers rob branches of a small Texan bank with an unknown purpose and get a soon to be retired ranger and his partner on their trail.

 

Hell or High Water is written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario (2015)) and directed by David Mackenzie (The Last Great Wilderness (2002)).

It is a cool crime drama with affinity for 'the little man', - in this case the man from the country, who hasn't seen the progress of the new millennium but has instead just gotten poorer and exploited by the bank to boot. The film is rich in Texan flavor and characters and is led by four esteemed performances: Jeff Bridges (R.I.P.D. (2013)) and Gil Chesterton (Wind River (2017)) are funny as the friendly-teasing partners; Chris Pine (A Wrinkle in Time (2018)) is a torn up survivor, and Ben Foster (Inferno (2016)) goes head-first into his devil-may-care criminal character who has lost himself in the fringes and knows it, - a formidable performance.

The film is well shot (cinematography by Giles Nuttgens (Grain (2017))) with an eye for wide panoramas (that could make one expect a horse opera) and the big cars that stand out beautifully in this solid man's picture.

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 12 mil. $

Box office: 37.9 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.15 times its cost)

[Hell or High Water premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, Un Certain Regard section) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place from May - July 2015 in New Mexico. The film opened #20 to a 621k $ first weekend in 20 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #8 and in 1,505 theaters (different weeks), grossing 27 mil. $ (71.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 2.1 mil. $ (5.5%) and France with 1.7 mil. $ (4.5 %). The film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Picture to Moonlight, Supporting Actor (Bridges) to Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, Original Screenplay to Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea and Editing to Hacksaw Ridge. It was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs, won an AFI award, won 1/3 Independent Spirit awards, was nominated for 3 Golden Globes and won 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Mackenzie returned with Outlaw King (2018). Bridges returned in The Only Living Boy in New York (2017); Pine in Star Trek Beyond (2016); and Foster in Warcraft (2016). Hell or High Water is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hell or High Water?