Hell Or High Water

A pure post-western that doesn't remember the old days fondly, but laments the misery of the present, which doesn't favor cowboys. It’s a wistful tale from the borderlands that reigns in its casting and pure direction. However, the theatrical standing on the porch with a beer in your hand and philosophy on your lips is perhaps too much at times. (15.01.2017)

I found the term contemporary western a bit shocking at the start, but after all why not. The film takes place in Texas and apart from the kind-hearted sheriff, who is brilliantly portrayed by Jeff Bridges, there are also two guys who rob banks and I spent the entire movie trying to understand them, which, honestly, I couldn’t accomplish and the final punchline of the film doesn’t help it either. Nevertheless, thanks to the setting and the exemplary introduction to the Texan character, which takes shit from no one and nothing, this film is worth seeing. I also feel that this is the reason why this movie was actually made. It’s like a recruitment video: “Become a Texan… if you have the balls.” Addendum: And now we are going to play the movie Hell or High Water for you, which will present us in the rawest form and on top of that you will get to enjoy some beautiful scenery, which the director of photography used to emphasise the beauty of the scorched wasteland. (30.01.2017)

The pure essence of Cormack McCarthy, about which regular adaptations of his works can just dream about. Without exaggeration, the best film neo-western, watching which you will be astonished on how many levels it works, without any possible "but". It works smoothly as a genre movie, as a study of magnificently written (and without exception equally magnificently played) characters, as a hypnotic movie that raises emotions benefiting from Cave and endless Texas distances, as well as a camera that does them justice as a reflection of time and a social insight into the soul of the had-working Republican class, which has nothing, banks are bullying them and circumstances force them to take one credit after another and who get from one debt to another (no other film will show you in such an illustrative and nonviolent way why America chose Trump), as a textbook of minimalist dialogs "about something", even if seemingly "about nothing", like... Well, I could continue for hours and hours in the same way. For many years, I have not seen a movie that would so skillfully blur the line between pure genre pleasure and existential festival movie. For me, it's simply an instant classic, and not just within the "Peckinpah" genre. (16.11.2016)

I like stories of people who have most things wrong in life and yet wouldn't change a thing. It's a devil's deal that such stories often take place in Texas. From Toby and Tanner's robberies, I feel a burning longing for old times that will never return, and Jeff Bridges' grumbling ranger saws the contours of a Western almost to perfection. In combination with perfect cinematography that captures all the vast expanses with absorbing haziness, I'm not far from giving this the highest rating. There's only one thing preventing me – the persistent feeling that it borrowed too much from No Country for Old Men. (11.01.2017)

Texas has got something about it. The Southern atmosphere drips from each shot. McCarthy’s redneck poeticism engulfs you and Cave and Ellis have the lion´s share in this. A story about two brothers and their plan to overcome adversity embodied in bank clerks. Bridges’ lines are perfect, Foster is nicely crazy, Pine intentionally minimalistic. A modern western at its best. Sometimes even a blind pig can find its way to the trough. (04.12.2016)

And the Oscar for non-stop pure redneck neo-western goes to? David Mackenzie, who has handled an uninteresting material decently, creating a swaggering retro one-off with a boisterous Jeff Bridges the way we like him and a wacky Ben Foster the way we absolutely love him. Oddly enough, it also works quite well as an interesting probe amongst working-class Midwesterners. It doesn’t have any bigger ambitions, but it’s good for a Saturday siesta. (19.11.2016)

Ein moderner Western mit allem Drum und Dran, d. h. auch mit einer direkten und einfachen Geschichte, die aber nicht dumm ist. Und obwohl mir Sheridans Wind River ein bisschen mehr gefallen hat, habe ich keinen Grund zur Unzufriedenheit. Das Drehbuch kümmert sich um alle Figuren (auch um die kleinsten, wie z. B. der alte Mann in der Bank oder die Kellnerin – eigentlich die Kellnerinnen – im Restaurant). Die Schauspieler*innen sind perfekt und der ganze Film wird von der Regie sowie der Kamera verwöhnt. Dazu kommt die Musik von Nick Cave und Warren Ellis. Das Ganze hat den Pep der Filme von Sam Peckinpah. Jetzt verstehen Sie, warum ich Hell Or High Water heute bestimmt nicht zum letzten Mal gesehen habe. (16.12.2018)

As always, the fascinating setting of neo-western Texas is so bleak and grimy as to be immensely beautiful, and set within it is an admittedly unoriginal but utterly absorbing, rhythmic and logically unfolding plot about two bank robbers and a persistent sheriff. The performances are excellent throughout; directorially, the film it’s not dazzling, igniting tension with general communicativeness and intense escalation of the inevitable collision of the two sub-worlds, but within the established technical and narrative parameters, it’s a perfectly effective conversational detective drama that manages to create an excellent atmosphere only with engaging dialogues, diversified with an academically targeted racist theme. A great cool movie with the traditional Bridges and a great musical score by Nick Cave, a steal of the golden bald man might have been appropriate. (29.12.2016)

Ein weiterer Oscar-Irrtum, es sei denn, neben den afroamerikanischen Quoten würden auch texanische gelten. Ein moderner Western? OK, möglicherweise die letzte halbe Stunde, die wirklich sehr gut und gelungen ist und an irgendeinen Western erinnert. Ansonsten ein völlig durchschnittlicher Film mit tauben Stellen. Für einen Oscar sollte das keinesfalls reichen. Die stärkste Seite bildet die schauspielerische Leistung beider Brüder, wie immer ein hervorragender Ben Foster und ein überraschend toller Chris Pine. Aber Jeff Bridges? Werden wieder Nominierungen für Verdienste vergeben? Soll ich über sein Herumsitzen und sein Gequatsche mit seinem Indianerkollegen und das Hervorpressen von Wörtern durch seine Prothese oder den von ihm imitierten texanischen Dialekt von den Socken sein? Außerdem hat er schon einen Oscar, also hätte sich die ehrwürdige Akademie woanders umschauen können. (26.02.2017)

The film had a great theme, a good cast, a decent atmosphere, and finally some politically incorrect humor. I had fun, but... everything I just mentioned was spoiled by the ridiculously slow pacing. If you want to use long shots of the landscape, don’t pick Texas where everything looks the same. I was strongly surprised by the lack of negative characters. Even the lawyer was a good guy, so the mortgage guy was left to pick up the slack. What I liked was the rather unexpected ending. 3*+ (08.07.2018)

A modern western tale that is incredibly well-suited by its choice of cast, with Ben Foster brilliantly unhinged, Chris Pine convincingly enigmatic, and of course, Jeff Bridges, who although you might start feeling he's playing somewhat similar roles, it doesn't matter much because he plays them superbly. (21.11.2016)

It struck me as a bit of a recycling of much more famous genre pieces (Fargo, No Country for Old Men). So nothing new under the sun in terms of originality. I was still a bit puzzled that Taylor Sheridan, after his excellent screenwriting debut Sicario, resorted to a rather routine story, which fortunately is saved by great actors and cool locations. Perhaps I was too enamored with Sicario and Wind River, but Hell or High Water has been the least appealing to me from Sheridan so far. But it has its merits, of course (if only for the great Bridges and the spectacular final shootout). (24.07.2018)