David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water takes place in the barren terrain of West Texas, where two brothers, Tanner & Toby Howard, concoct a desperate bank robbery scheme in order to save their family's farm. After the recent death of their mother, Toby, the younger brother and brains behind the operation, is determined to not let the house foreclose and become property of the bank, resolute at all costs to pay off his mother's debt. Enlisting Tanner, a man who has been in and out of prison his whole life, the two brothers set out of a cross-state bank robbery spree, with Marcus Hamilton, a soon-to-be retired Texas Ranger, hot in pursuit. David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water is a harrowing portrait of impoverished, rural life, exhibiting a tale of hopelessness, sacrifice, and financial exploitation of the underprivileged class of society. Well-crafted, Hell or High Water's greatest attribute is the overall sense of hopelessness that strangles the life out of nearly every character in the film, depicting the decaying state of small town America, one in which nearly every character seems caught under the vice grip of the financial institutions. Visually the film evokes this hopelessness through an observant eye, routinely focusing on the stagnation of these small decaying towns, which is beautifully supplemented with the use of wide angle compositions of barren landscapes, a decision that visually evokes a feeling of insignificance about these characters who are caught up in a world that feels far too big for them to fight against. The problem with Hell or High Water is the film's message centered around the financial institutions self-serving greed and lack of accountability is portrayed in overly simplistic and didactic ways, with the filmmakers almost lazily expecting the viewers to accept that the brothers have been terribly wronged by the banks, with very little explanation, outside of merely stating that they were. It's not a huge problem in the grand scheme of things, thanks to Hell or High Water's powerful tale of sacrifice and self-loathing that unwinds, but it's always a tad concerning to me when screenplays rely too heavily on the preconceived notions of its audience to fully flesh out its narrative and thematic ideals. The thematic strength of the film is centered around the character of Toby, a character who essentially goes against his own moral judgement in order to secure a future for him and his family. Toby is a character who is over his head, unwilling to stop but also struggling to control the more volatile nature of his brother, a character who shows much more of a penchant for violence. Hell or High Water hits a high watermark in its conclusion by examining the underlying morality of Toby's actions, not condoning them nor celebrating them, understanding though that his actions have indirectly lead to the death of others, no matter the fact that he was driven their due to desperation and financial greed. We leave Toby simply wondering how much these lives will indirectly guilt this man, with Hell or High Water adding a degree of introspection and self-loathing centered around the conflict between personal self betterment and larger aspects of morality. David Mackenzie's Hell or Hight Water paints an effective portrait of Toby as a character who is stuck between a rock and a hard place, opting to essentially sacrifice himself for the betterment of his family.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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