I guess that I am somewhere in between. I had not read the reviews prior to viewing the film last night (I usually avoid reviews of movies that I have yet to see), but I knew that they were very strong. I do not feel that Hell or High Water is "great" or a "classic" or a "masterpiece" or what have you, but I do feel that the film is "good"—one of the year's best so far, albeit in what has been a weak year for movies to this point. Hell or High Water is rather mesmerizing, and it is engrossing for the most part. At times it feels slow, but that pacing is wholly appropriate. The film is very atmospheric and makes fine use of its wide-open-spaces locations, although as in so many other movies, such as Thelma & Louise, you know that the filmmakers did not actually shoot in Oklahoma when you see mountains in the background. (Filmmakers usually do not shoot movies where they are set, but one wishes that they would not be so obvious about the discrepancies in these sorts of Western locales.) Jeff Bridges is brilliant, the rollicking and witty dialogue between him and his Mexican/Native American partner is exceptional, and the ending is classic. The score is also worthwhile, especially the concluding song, "Outlaw State of Mind." The film offers a no-frills approach full of deadpan humor and dry irony, and the ambiguous, open-ended denouement encourages the viewer to think for him or herself. Indeed, what ties everything together is Hell or High Water's unsentimental objectivity and lack of moralizing.
That said, I do not find the movie earth-shattering, emotionally powerful, or particularly deep. The film's populism is noteworthy, especially in terms of drawing a circle connecting contemporary (white) displacement with the historical experience of Native Americans. But at times, the anti-bank populism feels a tad forced (or at least insufficiently explored), as if the film is straining for contemporary relevance or writer Taylor Sheridan is merely mimicking Bonnie & Clyde.
Still, Hell or High Water returns viewers to the simpler joys of a bygone era in cinema: acting, dialogue, silence, natural locations, time, space. The movie is not original so much as refreshing.
reply
share
jsgilm-63457
8 years ago
I thought the populism was both why critics have responded to it so much, but also why it is only a "good" movie instead of a "great" movie. It was just so heavy handed. Almost every frame in the movie out of doors shows a "going out of business" or "bank owned" sign. About 15 minute minutes in I was thinking-I get it. The hype its gotten is also because it came out in a summer full of dregs, retreads and otherwise bad or boring movies.
reply
share