Hell Or High Water

pixelburp

From the writer of Sicario comes a dusty, low-stakes thriller that gives of a distinct Cormac McCarthy vibe. Reviews seem pretty positive, so looks like one to keep an eye out for when it arrives on these shores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igD-fXiHRRY

Mr E

Looks a bit like a movie version of Justified, with Jeff Bridges as a grisly Raylan Givens. What's not to like?

Out here on September 9th.
Current sitting on 86 on Metacritic after 36 reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZrhCMt5234

El Duda

This looks excellent. Will be going to the cinema for this one. Good cast.

There's a lot of critically acclaimed releases next month.

Arghus

El Duda wrote: »

This looks excellent. Will be going to the cinema for this one. Good cast.

There's a lot of critically acclaimed releases next month.

About time. This summer has been an absolute joke for movies!

Looking forward to this a good deal.

JP Liz V1

Ben Foster is great actor, very underrated

bur

Released next week in the UK looks like, but none of my nearest cinemas have it in the coming soon section even.

bkrangle

Looking forward to this, a really exciting mix of talent involved

Friday is looking good for new releases with this, Don't Breathe and Kubo all coming out

maximoose

Saw this lastnight in Cineworld, really enjoyed it.

Foster / Pine / Bridges all nail it IMO with some great supporting characters in there too.

dudara

Just back from seeing this tonight in Dundrum. Easily the best film I've seen all year. Moody, funny drama with great performances from Bridges, Foster and even Pine! In fact thus film is Pine's.

FortuneChip

It's a pretty standard heist film on paper, but on screen it's really really good.
Pine is as good as he's ever been (maybe alongside "Z is for Zachariah"), while Foster & Bridges are every bit as good as you'd expect them to be.

It's excellently paced, funny and the economic inequality commentary just lingers in the background thanks to some great shots of Texas.

Highly recommend

two wheels good

It got two 5 star reviews on Radio1's Arena this week. I might even risk the popcorn munchers and mobile phone addicts in the multiscreen myself for this one.

FortuneChip

two wheels good wrote: »

It got two 5 star reviews on Radio1's Arena this week. I might even risk the popcorn munchers and mobile phone addicts in the multiscreen myself for this one.

I doubt it will be selling out many theatres, you can easily avoid them.

FunLover18

Saw this last and really enjoyed. Didn't love it but the performances and the music choices were brilliant.

Few niggly things that annoyed me were all the shots of Pine and Foster just standing or sitting together, they looked great but didn't seem to have a purpose. This is really nitpicky but although Pine was brilliant I couldn't stop thinking that he wasn't rugged enough, he was way too pretty to be a cowboy.

But there just two really small things I loved the modern western aesthetic and in was really glad that it didn't fall into the usual cliches.

I kept waiting for it all to go tits up

tunguska

Every now and then a film comes along that restores your faith in cinema and Hell or highwater is exactly that. From the get go I knew this was something special and it never let up. Its a damn near perfect film and one of those you just dont want to end. Ben foster and jeff bridges will probably cancel each other out at the oscars next year but they are both unreal. Ben foster is just off the scale, he is phenomanal in this. I went to see a date for mad mary last week, which is alright but it just occured to me how big the gulf in acting class there is between a film made in the states and one made here. You could argue money but acting ability is not down to cash. Its a shame we dont produce films with acting this good. Chris pine is really very good aswell. He plays it low key as opposed to foster who has it dialed up to 11. It works brilliantly though.
The dialogue is flawless. Sometimes you see a film and you just cringe at the lines being sprouted. But this is like strawberries and cream. It looks amazing too.
All i can say is go see this. If you like a really high class film thats intelligent, entertaining and gripping, this is the buachaill.
5/5. Best film ive seem in a long time.

Slydice

Awe damnit, now I'm super hyped for this film.:eek:

Oh I hope it's good!:)

pumpkin4life

Easily one of the best (my vote still goes for Green Room, but still) films this year. I could do without the preachy "dem white lads took our land Indian" bits (bit too much on the nose), but overall, its a rock solid movie with a stunning Jeff Bridges performance.

It's also the funniest movie this year, along with Hail Caesar!. I highly recommend this one. It's a real, why us cùnts actually bother going to the movies to see that "extra kickbum quality movie" movie.

charlie_says

No nonsense cops and robbers film done right.

Chris Pine was surprisingly good but Ben Foster was excellent. Jeff did pretty well too.

Lots of guns in West Texas apparently. Big skies and lots of poverty and cattle.

Was in the IMC in Galway picture was slightly blurry and out of focus which I asked about twice and nothing was done - it's a crap cinema. Frustrating but the strength of the performances and dialog on-screen made me forget about it for the most part.

Mitch Connor

FortuneChip wrote: »

the economic inequality commentary just lingers in the background thanks to some great shots of Texas.

Completely disagree and it was my biggest problem with the movie - the economic inequality and related social commentary was hammered home with a sledgehammer at every single opportunity. Ever drive featured billboards showing it, every character they met along the way hammered it home - especially the two dinner scenes. Was painfully hammered home - not lingering or subtlety to it at all.

billyhead

How come this film is not on general release i.e the likes of the Odeon in point village arent showing it?

FunLover18

billyhead wrote:

How come this film is not on general release i.e the likes of the Odeon in point village arent showing it?

Just checked on entertainment.ie, seems to be fairly general, most Odeons seem to have it, it's odd the one in the point doesn't.

dunworth1

went to see it yesterday fantastic film really enjoyed it and i was very suprised with chris pine.

i actually thought ben foster was Aaron Paul for a few minutes

Outlaw Pete

I thought was okay.

There was lots to like but a lot to dislike also.

Just felt more frustrated by the story than immersed in it.

As I as leaving the cinema I felt like I had just seen an excellent film merged with a crap one.

El Duda

Hell or High Water - 9/10

An old skool cops and robbers western set in the modern day. Three great lead performances from Pine, Bridges and Foster. In terms of plot, this is stripped back to the bone, no nonsense, performance driven grit. Manages to be funny and poignant at the same time.

Excellent blend of nostalgic scenery with modern day blemishes. Bridges chews his way through every scene he's in. Easily one of the best films of the year. Go and see it.

TerrorFirmer

Always nice to see films that live up to the hype. Solid performances all around with a straight forward, no nonsense tight storyline and a good script. Some great cinematography as well - very reminiscint of the first season of True Detective in a lot of ways. Chris Pine and Ben Foster work excellently together and Jeff Bridges stole the show.

Probably the best film of 2016 for me so far and a well deserved 9/10.

homerun_homer

Brilliant film. I avoided the trailer and glad I did as watching it. Loved the performances, the banter between characters and surprised at how funny it was in parts. The scene with the waitress taking their order was a hoot.

TheDoc

Hoping it will still be in the cinema next week. Misses is due shortly with our second and was sweating to get this in before she pops!

Mr Joe

Is this being shown everywhere, it's not in my local cinema which is an Odeon and doesn't appear to be coming??

Quite surprised as everything else in it is mostly rubbish or out for ages.

pixelburp

One often repeated tale of the Hollywood Western was about the cultural clash between 'Civilisation' (however the films manifested this concept, be it through the rule of law, the railroad etc.) and the world of the cowboy & frontier explorers; about how this simpler world was was slowly becoming swallowed by myth, while men (it was usually men) found themselves on the wrong side of history or progress. With that in mind, Hell or High Water felt like the next chapter of that idea of the Great American Western, albeit as downbeat third act where we discovered the conquering civilisation had effectively failed and begun to collapse in on itself.

Weirdly, the one film I couldn't shake from thinking of was Mad Max of all things - the original 1979 film that is. And not the biker gangs or vehicular warfare either, but the world the first film was set in: a dying, moribund Australia that was slowly sinking into a dusty abyss while a few souls clung valiantly onto some structures and notions of the world that was already halfway gone. Hell or High Water painted a similarly stark picture, albeit of a Texas whose economy and prospects seem hopeless for those still clinging onto the idea of a life spent on the land. Rather than the railroad putting end to their ways, it was the banks effectively killing off towns and all people could do was watch it roll over them.

Ok, possibly being a little severe & overanalysing here, because a standard crime thriller alone, the film still delivered: the low stakes oddly more compelling and immediate than its sibling films in the genre that go for larger scores. The performances were universally stellar, even if Jeff Bridges must surely be getting sick of playing the drawling lawman, one day left 'til retirement. And while the main cast obviously had their narratives, it was the side characters that gave the film a little extra vitality, each scene peppered with intriguing, plain-speaking folks that came across a little misplaced in a modern world.

Also definitely one to watch in the cinema too, the wide open plains & skies of Texas best suited to as large a screen as possible.

johnny_ultimate

A solid film, but one that left me more cold and detached than I expected. I'd struggle to identify anything glaringly wrong with it - other than perhaps the less than subtle moments where it overemphasised its thematic focus of fading tradition in conflict with creeping modernity (at least it's about something, but I appreciated the fleeting moments of being shown rather than being told it - it invites unflattering comparisons with the more stylistically and narratively substantive No Country for Old Men as a result). At the same time I'd struggle to identify anything truly exceptional about it either. The performances are mostly solid (Bridges chews the Texan scenery a bit IMO), the direction is competent but unexceptional, the film's visual style at times fetching but mostly unimaginative. It ticks along nicely, but never rises to true greatness.

The spectre of Cormac McCarthy's work lingers over Hell or High Water. But whereas his anti- and post-westerns are full of nuance and surprise, there's something much more familiar and rote about this. Certainly this is a fine film, but there's just a true cinematic spark missing.

Rainmann

The reviews here seem to be very positive and it also got an 8.3 (so far) on IMDB.

To be honest I thought it was a huge let down. Really slow moving and I know it's a true story but so many of the scenes were either pointless or with a forced emotion / attempt at humour. I didn't think there was anything captivating about the way it was done. Like they way they were making the brothers out to be clever and calculating in their strategy... I just saw two lads going from bank to bank Robbing petty cash and hoping to escape the police in a ****ty car.. Luckily for them the two officers might aswell have been spaced out on acid.

On a positive note the sound track was really cool. Similar to making a murderer.

Looper007

Loved the film, especially the performances of Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. Loved the slow pacing, reminds me of a 70's American film. Great soundtrack from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, also props to Chris Pine who gave his best performance to date. The last 20 minutes was some of the best cinema this year and great stand off between Bridges and Pine at the end. After the one two punch of Starred Up and now Hell or High Water, David Mackenzie is a director to watch (he also did the rather underrated Young Adam with Ewan Mcgregor).

Fysh

Rainmann wrote: »

The reviews here seem to be very positive and it also got an 8.3 (so far) on IMDB.

To be honest I thought it was a huge let down. Really slow moving and I know it's a true story but so many of the scenes were either pointless or with a forced emotion / attempt at humour. I didn't think there was anything captivating about the way it was done. Like they way they were making the brothers out to be clever and calculating in their strategy... I just saw two lads going from bank to bank Robbing petty cash and hoping to escape the police in a ****ty car.. Luckily for them the two officers might aswell have been spaced out on acid.

On a positive note the sound track was really cool. Similar to making a murderer.

Where are you getting the idea that it's a true story? I haven't heard anything about that.

The plan is reasonably smart as far as any plan involving repeatedly robbing banks can be - specifically, they have a comparatively low amount of money they're trying to raise and so

they avoid taking significant amounts of cash by sticking to smaller, less-easily-traceable currency denominations, they (mostly) make a point of not killing anyone, and they don't steal anything else (e.g. safety deposit boxes). All these things help keep the robberies lower down the priority list, so that the FBI does not have interest in investigating them and it's instead delegated to local or regional agencies with fewer resources. Ditto having multiple cars to use as getaway vehicles which they then bury, making it far less likely they would be found.

TCDStudent1

Rainmann wrote: »

The reviews here seem to be very positive and it also got an 8.3 (so far) on IMDB.

To be honest I thought it was a huge let down. Really slow moving and I know it's a true story but so many of the scenes were either pointless or with a forced emotion / attempt at humour. I didn't think there was anything captivating about the way it was done. Like they way they were making the brothers out to be clever and calculating in their strategy... I just saw two lads going from bank to bank Robbing petty cash and hoping to escape the police in a ****ty car.. Luckily for them the two officers might aswell have been spaced out on acid.

On a positive note the sound track was really cool. Similar to making a murderer.

Didnt realise that. Who is it based on? I couldnt find anything about Toby Howard on google.

Arghus

A solid, well crafted, exceptionally acted and quietly absorbing movie. I feel like anything I have to say negatively about the film is a case of slight nit-picking because I don't want to take away from it unduly: it is a very good film.

A few posters have mentioned how despite all it's plus points it never rises to be something of another level of quality. I never felt truly transported while watching the film. Of course, that's an unreasonable expectation really, but I felt that the movie had so many stellar constituent parts that it almost should have been more truly outstanding than it was. In that sense it reminded me somewhat of a Clint Eastwood movie - solid, professional and lean but lacking those frills that can sometimes help change a film from an excellent one to transcendent. Other, minor criticisms, I have would have be how Jeff Bridges is just given that extra 20% too much of scenery to chew on. I also found the ending to be anti-climatic and perhaps a bit too neat and pat.

Initially, while viewing it, I felt that some of endless shots that just shouted POVERTY and FINANCIAL HARDSHIP at us, could have been lessened a tad. I did feel like I was receiving a lecture a bit, but I've thought about that aspect of the film since and I could see how it could be justified from a storytelling perspective: to our "heroes" getting money is vital and the lack of it is of immediate and existential importance. In that frame of mind you are going to notice every single roadside sign for payday loans or loan-sharks. So what I initially thought to be a stylistic choice laid on fierce and regrettably thick is something I can understand now.

The film has grown in my estimation since I've seen it. I appreciated how there was great moments of subtlety between the two brothers, that explained so much about their history and dynamics in a natural understated without blowing us away with exposition. I loved little character moments like Jeff Bridges's character busting his partner's balls, but then, when leaving the room for the night, putting a two-thirds full beer back into a barely touched six pack that spoke of a man's man who was actually kind of lonely and unable to say it. Jeff goes a bit OTT at times, but the movie is full of great acting. Ben Foster is convincingly dangerous, but I thought Chris Pine gave the best performance of the lot. It's a much harder role: he's the heart of the film, but has to anchor it in restraint and understatement. No mean feat.

All in all a very solid movie, with a few itty-bitty flaws. It could have been a masterpiece but instead is just, merely, excellent. The characters feel real, the stakes feel real and even when the bullets start flying it never really departs from reality - and is all the better for it. Also, I think this is one of those rare ones that could appeal to everyone: I'd challenge anyone not to get wrapped up in it while watching. It could have a long life yet.

Mr Joe

10/10 for me but I love these type of films. Best film I've seen this year anyway. Kind of No Country for Old Men vibe to it with some interesting themes and good acting.

ThisRegard

FortuneChip wrote: »

thanks to some great shots of Texas.

Highly recommend

Great film, but none of it was filmed in Texas, or so I read.

Slydice

Haven't seen it yet but kinda watching this thread to get a feeling for it.

Wiki also saying it was not Texas:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_or_High_Water_(film)#Production

Filming
Scenes were shot in Alamogordo Valley, Eastern New Mexico.

Although the film is purported to take place in West Texas, it was actually filmed in Eastern New Mexico. Principal photography on the film began on May 26, 2015 in Clovis, New Mexico.[11][12] Filming also took place in other New Mexico communities such as Portales and Tucumcari.[13][14] Some rural scenes were filmed in the vast and sparsely populated ranch country of Quay and Guadalupe counties of New Mexico, including scenic shots of Alamogordo Valley south of Luciano Mesa.

restive

Brilliant film. Great to see something like this after all the disappointments of the summer. Drove to the eye cinema in Galway to see it, well worth it. Cannot believe it is not more widely screened.

two wheels good

I finally got to see it on it's last night. The credits said: "Filmed on location in New Mexico"

Some interesting comments above.
I thought the political aspects (poverty, racism, conquest) in the film were important. They set the context and location and even some history. Without them it might have been another bank heist caper however well acted. They made for more complex interaction between characters too.
I'd actually have welcomed more on these topics, for example the bank was accused of land-grabbing from mortgage defaulters. The film could have chosen to "show not tell" this aspect.

The ending was indeed disappointing in the usual neatly tied-up Hollywood way that undermines the realism. Conveniently aided by a gunfight. (Okay, I know it's meant to be a western.)
But there were a few glaring cliches and plot holes along the way too. All those bullets and not a punctured tyre or radiator to be seen.

The tidy gunshot wound. The OAP with his lungs bursting and heart racing gets in a perfect headshot.
The stupid security man in the bank. Jeez, how often have we seen that?
The brothers' careful strategy abandoned for an impulsive one-man assault on the bank across the road from the cafe. That was a bit ridiculous even for the loose-canon brother.

Am I being a bit too picky? It was good but..five stars? Now I wonder what they'd make of it as a 3 part mini-series?

Dr Crayfish

Best film I saw in the cinema this year. Ben Foster just amazing. Chris Pine despite his ridiculous good looks somehow plays a blinder too. I would not like to visit West Texas. 2nd best for me this year 10 Cloverfield Lane!

Wailin

two wheels good wrote: »

I finally got to see it on it's last night. The credits said: "Filmed on location in New Mexico"

Some interesting comments above.
I thought the political aspects (poverty, racism, conquest) in the film were important. They set the context and location and even some history. Without them it might have been another bank heist caper however well acted. They made for more complex interaction between characters too.
I'd actually have welcomed more on these topics, for example the bank was accused of land-grabbing from mortgage defaulters. The film could have chosen to "show not tell" this aspect.

The ending was indeed disappointing in the usual neatly tied-up Hollywood way that undermines the realism. Conveniently aided by a gunfight. (Okay, I know it's meant to be a western.)
But there were a few glaring cliches and plot holes along the way too. All those bullets and not a punctured tyre or radiator to be seen.

The tidy gunshot wound. The OAP with his lungs bursting and heart racing gets in a perfect headshot.
The stupid security man in the bank. Jeez, how often have we seen that?
The brothers' careful strategy abandoned for an impulsive one-man assault on the bank across the road from the cafe. That was a bit ridiculous even for the loose-canon brother.

Am I being a bit too picky? It was good but..five stars? Now I wonder what they'd make of it as a 3 part mini-series?

Yeah, you are :pac:

two wheels good

Wailin wrote: »

Yeah, you are :pac:

You've convinced me! My quest for realism is so misguided. I see now that every film would benefit from more die hard.


I really liked the deputy's part. Coping with Bridges' provocation and "half-breed" comments. He played the part so well- understated, restrained. Not as minor a role as it first seemed and he had a few important lines.

The screen play is available online. The film is very faithful to it. I'm looking forward to having a closer look.

Interview with director here. Interesting that they test-screened the film.

Slydice

Watched it.

This Film is excellent. There's so much to it. The brothers, the banks, the world around them.

Same for the law officers.

Where they are, what they do and why they do it.

The ending cowboy-ish stand-off scene was excellent. So much said without saying any of the words. So much meant!

Tar.Aldarion

Just saw this, thought it was great, fell off a bit in the middle and was maybe missing something but a lot of good acting from the cast and an interesting film, brother dynamic was done well.

WHIP IT!

dunworth1 wrote: »

went to see it yesterday fantastic film really enjoyed it and i was very suprised with chris pine.

i actually thought ben foster was Aaron Paul for a few minutes

Now I don't feel quite as bad for thinking Chris Pine was Zak feckin' Efron for a good 30 seconds at the start!

Sue Pa Key Pa

Enjoyed that. Well crafted story with some good humour thrown in at times. You end up rooting for the 2 boyos

slavetothegrind

best movie in a long while..

really well shot, great acting.

lukin

I liked it although I must say Ben Foster is totally typecast playing psychos at this stage.I thought he was a little annoying.

Mizu_Ger

lukin wrote: »

I liked it although I must say Ben Foster is totally typecast playing psychos at this stage.I thought he was a little annoying.

I thought the same thing. I liked the film, but thought the praise for his performance was over the top. I feel like he's played this kind of character a lot.

lukin

There is also a fairly glaring plot-hole with regard to the $40,000 they owe the bank. Oil has been discovered on their land which surely meant the brothers would have no trouble getting a loan from any bank if they could prove that to them. Why they decide to steal $40,000 instead is not made clear.
This review pointed that out.

FunLover18

lukin wrote:

There is also a fairly glaring plot-hole with regard to the $40,000 they owe the bank. Oil has been discovered on their land which surely meant the brothers would have no trouble getting a loan from any bank if they could prove that to them. Why they decide to steal $40,000 instead is not made clear.

Isn't the point that the bank won't give them a loan given they can't repay the current one. Also the bank knows about the oil and wants to sell the land themselves. That's how I understood it.