Saturday, September 3, 2016

Hellor High Water

Hell or High Water
This film takes place in Texas; maybe West Texas, but who cares. The film features prosaic tenets of old TV westerns. There are two brothers robbing banks, the hated foreclosures bank, the fat slow moving Texas Ranger who is smarter than he looked. There was a zaftig floozy making the moves on Pine’s character but nothing happened.

The movie’s mood is sullen. The small towns are dusty and lonely. The brazen robberies are a juxtaposition to the towns phlegmatic existence. Aside from a busted nose to one gets killed during the robbery.

Chris Pine is the quite smart brother. He is the brains behind the robberies. This is a chance for Pine to break away the “Captain Kirk” persona and show more dramatic talent. He did good job, but honestly nothing was a stretch.  Ben Foster the other brother who is an ex con who is impulsive and reckless.  They rob numerous small local banks. They only take the draw money. There is a method to their madness of which becomes apparent as the movie unfolds.  It is not complicated.

Texas is land of the Second Amendment. When you pull a gun out in a bank there is a high probably lots of guns pointing back at you. This scene was one of the few funny scenes in the movie.

Jeff Bridges is the Texas Ranger pursuing the brothers. His performance nearly highjacks the movie. Not only was his character portrayal great, but he was hysterical.  He has a long suffering partner named Alberto, who is half Mexican and half Comanche. Bridges spews a continues stream of ethnic jabs, which Alberto takes in good nature. They are like an old married couple.  Bridges is the wise old cop a few months away from retirement. He is tuned into the bank robbers and they play a deadly cat and mouse game.

This movie has received high acclamation from the critics. This not a great movie?  It a good movie. If you can restrain yourself wait for On Demand.


No comments:

Post a Comment