Review of Hell or High Water (2016) by Mike R — 07 Nov 2016

A potentially fine film was rendered unintelligible thanks not only to the current vogue for mumbled dialogue but also in this case to the texas drawl which infected the entire film. Relying on the action and the odd half sentence sustained this viewer with an intriguing narrative albeit set against the depressing backdrop of a post '08 financial crash.

The desolately flat dusty Texas landscape felt all the more foreboding with the spectre of an imminent threat of a Trump administration and a nation seemingly stuck in a gun-toting time-warp. While the exact motive of this hapless pair on the rampage remained obscure, the sub-text of a remote America impoverished by the clash of old values and lifestyle with the realities of social and financial hardship painted a melancholic picture.