'Hell or High Water' was far from a box office success. The marketing for such a movie was would be a very difficult task and honestly, I do not remember seeing a single ad for the movie. I only saw the movie because it was playing at the dollar theater one night and my dad suggested we go watch it. It grossed only $29 million nationwide and only another $10 million worldwide, so it is safe to say that a very wide movie watching audience did not show up to this movie.
Going into the theater I knew absolutely nothing about this movie. I had not seen even as much as a poster for it before the film started rolling. I was a blank slate and as such, the film was made even better because of it. Before I get into what makes me think this is one of the few perfect movies to ever exist, I would highly recommend watching it yourself before learning any more about it. It is available to stream on Netflix.
In an article I wrote in the past, I laud Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter for the film, and his ability to write characters that are so perfectly human. Between 'Hell or High Water' and 'Wind River', not a single minor role or background character appear to be anything other than a real person going about their daily lives. I also praise him for his "Neo-Western" genre that combines many aspects of old westerns like shootouts with more modern subjects like having a bleak future and unpayable bank loans. 'Hell or High Water' excels as a film due to its' fascinating and genre-bending plot, its' realistic and masterfully written characters, and its perfect cinematography.
(Spoilers Ahead)
'Hell or High Water' does a masterful job of revealing key plot details when necessary and not over-explaining any part of the movie, so telling its plot linearly feels like a disservice to such a great film, but regardless.
'Hell or High Water' tells the story of two west Texas brothers who are in over their heads with debt that Toby, played by Chris Pine, acquired in trying to make his mother's last weeks on earth less miserable, and to do so he took out bank loans to buy medical equipment etc. to make this happen. During this time Tanner, Toby's brother, was in jail and Toby was trying to maintain his family's farm and livestock just to scrape by. Eventually, the brothers find themselves with a week left to pay off the roughly $30,000 debt or the bank will take over their property, which they discovered has oil under it and could make them much more money in the foreseeable future as long as they are able to pay the debt to keep the property. To accomplish this they set out to rob the loose cash from Texas Midland Banks in west Texas, which is the same bank that they gave them a very bad rate on their loan just to screw them out of their land. They are pursued by two Texas Ranger officers.
After they steal a substantial amount of money, they go up to a casino in Oklahoma, where they trade in their money for poker chips, sit on most of them for a bit, and then return them later for clean bills. Brilliant, if you ask me.
Some of the better scenes include the stark contrast at a gas station, where Tanner is asleep in the car whilst Toby goes inside to get a Dr. Pepper, and a rowdy teen in a green mustang pulls up. During this, the older cowboy mounts his horse in the background.
There is a sandwich of generations at play, with the oldest leaving on a horse, the middle in a beat up car, and the youngest in a new muscle car trying to pick a fight with the generation above him.
and then the fight
Gas Station Fight | Hell or High Water (2016) | 1080p HD youtu.be
Toby viciously defends his brother, because even though they do not get along very well, they are still brothers.
They return from the casino back to town, and Toby visits with his kids in person for the first time in over a year.
The Ranger officers wait outside a Texas Midlands branch in a small town, as it is only one of two options the brothers can hit.
The brothers pick the other option, but it was very crowded at that branch and they end up getting into a shootout where Toby freezes up but Tanner reacts and shoots a security guard and another bystander who had pulled a gun and started shooting. They leave the town followed heavily by townspeople who are shooting assault rifles at them but eventually outrun them. They get back to their other car and make a plan for them to run in opposite directions, with Tanner taking the attention of the townspeople while Toby goes to Oklahoma to cash in the rest of the money.
Tanner drives up a hill and starts a shootout with the townspeople and the officers. After an officer is killed by Tanner, Ranger Hamilton flanks Tanner and takes him out. Toby makes it to Oklahoma, then back to the Texas Midlands bank, he got the loan from just in time to pay it off.
In the end, Hamilton, now retired, and Toby, now a ranch hand at his ranch that he gave to his kids. They get in an almost awkward standoff over the death of Hamilton's officer friend but Hamilton chooses to drive off before anything bad happens.
And credits roll.
It is a shame such a good movie is boiled down to just a handful of paragraphs but now that the plot is established, we can get into the incredible character design in this movie.
There are so many perfect characters and character moments that truly embody the theme of bleakness in the west and distaste for the bank inside the movie.
In a sense, whilst the Howard brothers ended up fulfilling their destinies, the Ranger Officer's reversed theirs.
Toby loves his family and family members regardless of how good or bad they are to him. He treats them properly as best of his abilities. He has a good heart and pure intentions. In the end, he tends to the ranch and gets to at least see his kids more often as well as ending the cycle of poverty that he says has plagued his family for generations. Another fun addition is that he mentions that his son wants to play football at Texas A&M, and later we find out that Ranger Hamilton is a Texas Longhorns fan (Rival Schools).
Tanner is a reckless and violent criminal. He killed his abusive father in a "hunting" "accident" and spent 10 years in prison for aggravated assault. He is, by his nature and own admission, aggressive. Chasing a non-drug high through violence. His death comes directly from chasing this high, getting in a gunfight vs a small militia of angry and well-armed locals.
Ranger Marcus Hamilton is a very old and old school officer on the brink of retirement. He is alone, due to his deceased wife Mary Kate, except for his partner, Ranger Alberto Parker. He does not want to retire at all. Officer Parker tells Hamilton that he is trying to make this case last as long as possible so he can avoid that front porch. At an earlier point, Hamilton Remarks that he himself hopes these criminals decide they want to get in a gunfight and he goes down in a blaze of glory in the line of duty, to which Parker responds "I've seen you shoot, there won't be much glory in it" implying that Hamilton is a poor marksman at his age. This, of course, leads us to the shootout where Hamilton uses a rifle to kill Tanner at a very difficult range and angle.
Ranger Alberto Parker is a very family oriented and rather laid back character. In his opening scene, we see him smoking a vape in a police precinct in San Antonio. He is half Indian and half Mexican, which leads to a lot of banter from Ranger Hamilton. He is very much looking forward to his retirement, as he plans to move him and his wife down to Corpus Christi and live on a fishing boat. So all of this time it is set up for Hamilton to die in the shootout and for Parker to avenge him and live a long, happy life with his family, but we as the audience are afforded no such luxury, as Parker is shot through the head by Tanner during the shootout.
So these are the stories of the main protagonists, but what is it about the interactions that make them so human? Here are just a few examples:
Toby is a very kind person, and he tips his friendly waitress at the diner $200.
Hamilton is very old school when a tele-pastor preaching the gospel of prosperity is on the tv he makes a few remarks that are funny and are perfect for his character.
YouTube youtu.be
The nonmain characters also have some of the best lines and interactions:
What Don't You Want? Waitress | Hell or High Water (2016) | 1080p HD youtu.be
Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter, makes an on-screen appearance as a struggling cowboy who has grown to hate his job and mentions that his kids do not want to do his job either when they're older.
Hell or High Water Clip - No place for traditional way of life youtu.be
