Review of Hell or High Water (2016) by Kaung S — 04 Feb 2017

"Hell or High Water" shatters Hollywood Western clichà (C)s, forcing lawmen and outlaws into a 21st century frame of parched towns beset by quicksand-like poverty, predatory banks, and ethnic tensions.

Two indebted brothers race a succession of stolen cars through a series of carefully planned bank heists. Chris Pine struggles to fight his way out of a bank lien on the family home and provide a future for his (estranged) children better than his own.

His more hardened brother puts a gun to bank tellers' heads more for the nihilistic thrill. In pursuit, an aging Texas Ranger needles his Tejano partner with ethnic jabs, until the latter dryly responds that Anglo Texans' days in power are numbered.

The latter-day bank thieves inevitably run afoul of certain 21st century realities, but take surprising advantage of others. Throughout, the characters move through a landscape where the only imaginable hopes reside in crime, gambling, and back yard oil wells.

Tellingly, the film returns several times to themes of impermanence and mortality: Nothing lasts forever and those who have fought hardest to survive or preserve order feel more than slightly drawn toward the peace of the grave.