September 24th in Chicago. This is a film that got some excellent buzz and more than a few people told me to see it. The film received an 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating and has grossed over $25 million against a budget of $12 million. The film went into a limited US release on August 12th and a wider release on August 26th.
Set in the bleak desolation of West Texas, Toby (pretty boy Chris Pine) and ex-con brother Tanner (the criminally underrated Ben Foster) pull off an early morning heist of a Texas Midlands Bank. The robbery is assigned to Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton (The Dude) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham). Hamilton, the old coot Ranger, is retiring (sounds a little like a certain sheriff in No Country For Old Men right?) ad this is his last case and he wants to see it through. While at a diner at another small town, Tanner knocks over another bank while Toby is flirting with the waitress.
The brothers so far have only stolen a relatively small amount from the banks. The reason is they're raising money (Hamilton deduced as much from the investigation) to pay off (they launder it at an Oklahoma Native American casino) the reverse mortgage on the farm since oil was discovered on the property. The boys' mother had died and the bank is itching to foreclose and sell it off to get that sweet oil money.
There is a historical reference you know.
There's one more Texas Midlands Bank to knock over. Hamilton and Parker are staking one out (which leads to the funniest exchange between Parker/Hamilton and an old waitress when trying to order lunch). Hamilton realizes they're at the wrong bank. Toby and Tanner hit the bank but it's payday. This being West Texas, everyone in the bank is packing and violence erupts. The brothers split up and Tanner leads the authorities in the desert for his last stand. The film ends with Toby paying of the bank and turning into a trust for his estranged sons. He's confronted by a now retired Hamilton about his involvement.
This picture is directed by David Mackenzie, an Englishman who's not exactly well known on this side of the pond. The film is very reminiscent of No Country For Old Men but it more than holds its own. The characters are gritty (there were more than a few times when I muttered to myself, "isn't he going to take a shower?") and the characters are very real and layered. My problems with the film were minimal. One being that Chris Pine is too much of a pretty boy to dirty up. He did a fine job, it's not his fault he's such a good looking guy. Another is that Bridges is pretty much reprising his Rooster Cogburn role but that's just being nitpicky. Ben Foster gives a great performance as the somewhat unhinged brother who's going to go down in flames. In a fair world, Ben Foster would have a few Oscars on his mantle for supporting roles.
There are also few messages here as well. First and foremost is the plight of the Howard farm. There's a scene where Toby and Tanner are getting the proper instructions on how the save the farm and keep a large steady flow of income coming in for Toby's boys. The banker explains that Midlands loaned their mother just enough to keep her poor. There is probably happens in real life and I am sure something along these lines happened during the Great Depression. There was a feeling that the Howard Brothers were sort of heroes sticking it to "the man." The staff and patrons from the diner were not that cooperative when asked to describe the brothers and at the end even the bank didn't seem to give a crap about identifying Toby as the second robber. Then there's the gun angle. Violence erupts and innocent people are killed when some guy decides to be the "good guy with a gun" inside the bank. Technically the bank guard tarted shooting first (he was a lousy shot considering he got the drop on the Howard Brothers) but we see a bank patron pull his gun out prior to the bank guard making his entrance. The "good guys" give chase but turn tail and run (as they should) when Tanner pulls out a machine gun and sprays bullets into their cars. I just got the feeling that the film was trying to say that police work should be left to the professionals,
This is a must see film. An all around well made film. Hell or High Water is the best film I've seen this year.
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