Back in the days of the classic western, the division between the black and white hats who would clash over the law were as clearly defined as those colour coded nicknames. The lawmen tended to be fine, upstanding fellas, pure of spirit and noble of heart as they selflessly purged the old west of every crook, outlaw and steely-eyed bushwhacker who would inevitably cross their path, and in response the villains of the piece usually tended to just simply born bad with no other motive other than they just liked breaking the law.
Of course, as time moved on, those lines, once so clearly defined, began to blur as that dependable naivety soon gave way to shades of grey and reality started to intrude and once we got into the era of the neo-western we found that such trite conperts such as good and evil tend to hold about as much water as a rusted bucket. One of the finest, most recent examples of this proved to be David Mackenzie’s Hell Of High Water that showed that economic depression and greedy banks are possibly the true black hats of our times.
Brothers Toby and Tanner Howard are on a mission as they travel through West Texas, holding up branches of the Texas Midland Bank for strangely low sums of money. But while the older, wilder Tanner seems born to stick a gun in the face of a bank teller and break the nose of a manager with the butt of his gun, Toby is far more reserved and careful, indicating that he’s not only the brains behind this mini spree, but he has motives other than quick cash and cheap thrills.
A quick look at their history reveals all. Their mother has died after a long illness which, thanks to a reverse mortgage provided by Texas Midlands Bank, means that their ranch is now in debt and their land will be claimed by the end of the week. Making matters more desperate during these trying, economic times, oil has been discovered on the land, so in an attempt to pay off the loan to keep the land and finally provide for his two boys from a failed marriage, Toby has cooked up a scheme to rob smaller branches of the bank in order to raise the necessary funds and pay off the debt with the Texas Midland’s own money.
Of course, you can’t just run around Texas, robbing banks without anyone noticing, and so on their trail is the grizzled Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton who is rocketing towards retirement and wants to wrap this all up soon before he’s done. As he and his partner, Alberto Parker, gradually circle their way round to figuring out the pattern the Howard Brothers are operating in, Tanner seems to be getting more reckless with every robbery, taking unnecessary risks and escalating the chance of bloodshed until the inevitable happens. In a world where banks have squeezed everyone dry, can the desperate truly be justified in breaking the law?
Seeing as we’re all living in financially uncertain times, I’m genuinely surprised that the genre of the neo-western hasn’t made more of a robust comeback as never has there been a greater time to weave a fable about bank robbers, texas and lots of people going around wearing stetsons. You see, where once upon a time it would be the banks that are the victims, the outlaws the villains and the lawmen the good guys, nowadays everything has changed due to the numerous depressions and financial angst that the world has constantly had to wade through. Now, it’s the banks that are the villains and instead of having clearly defined protagonists and antagonists on either side of the law, it’s that very law that’s dissolved who exactly we’re supposed to be rooting for and that’s the main ingredient for the genius of Hell Or High Water.
Featuring a script by Taylor Sheridan who’s no stranger to presenting worlds where the law is continuously manipulated like play-dough (Sicario), director David Mackenzie gleefully embraces all the aspects that make up a good neo-western. Financially dying towns that seem virtually empty, colourful minor characters who dwell in diners, deep discussions about life carried our while staring off into the distance as they sip beer on a dusty porch – it’s all there as it drifts through the film like a warm breeze. In fact, when it comes to having one cowboy boot planted firmly in invoking the feel of classic genre tropes and having the other add modern sensibilities, Hell Of High Water proves to be one of the best to ever do it thanks to the fact that even though we have bank robberies, cowboys, shootouts and Jeff Bridges using his Rooster Cogburn voice once again, Mackenzie and Sheridan ensures that it remains defiantly mature and never gives you, the audience, an easy out.
We understand that the Howard Brothers are technically in the right and it’s helped tremendously by the fact that Chris Pine’s looking as charismatic as ever from under a bushy mustache, but despite his careful planning to not let anyone get hurt, you know things will eventually turn bloody when you realise that his older brother is being played by the notoriously twitchy Ben Foster. However, while Foster has famously played more than his fair share of unpredictable live wires, his obvious desire to go out like a true outlaw for once isn’t portrayed as bloodthirsty mania, thus avoiding the stereotype of the crazed partner who ultimately fucks everything up. However, while the Howards don’t measure up as traditional anti-heroes or villains, the Texas Rangers played by Bridges and Gil Birmingham aren’t exactly your clean cut saviors either, with Hamilton strafing his partner with a near constant string of racial teasing concerning his native American heritage. The movie’s most impressive trick is that it makes the Howards plight so real and the mismatched buddy act of the Rangers so endearing, that you find yourself rooting for both parties even though you know that neither side can possibly come out the other side intact – and that generates a magnificent amount of tension and events grind their way to a conclusion that’s somehow both excitingly ambiguous as it is utterly final.
Yessir, this is a film where even the winners don’t technically win as their accumulated sins will no doubt weigh them down for the rest of their lives like a pair of cast iron cowboy boots, while the people that’s truly caused the issues that created this whole scenario sit behind desks, utterly indifferent to the pain they’re causing. As a result, this dose of cinematic tough love proves to be both simultaneously exhilarating and incredibly thoughtful at the same time. Maybe this is a result of us being starved of mature movies in cinemas these days that try to shoot for neat resolutions and easy answers; but in the hands of such skilled storytellers such as these, Hell Or High Water proves to be a high water mark when it comes to the intelligent spinning of yarns that feel uncomfortably close to home.
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