Hell or High Water
2016 · Directed by David Mackenzie
Original language: English
- western
- crime
- drama
The story
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
What it’s like
Dusty West Texas light: sun-bleached plains, scrubby hills, flat horizons under a huge sky, and the hot, cracked-earth colour palette of a drought summer, with oil pumpjacks and abandoned towns punctuating the empty land. The camera is steady and unfussy, with wide landscape frames and patient two-shots in diners and cars, and the film grain sits soft and warm over the daylight. Sound is mostly ambient: wind, engine hum, boots on gravel, with a sparse, twangy guitar score that comes in lightly. Vibe: dry, wry, sun-baked tension, the feel of a long hot afternoon on a backroad. It moves at a steady, unhurried clip, with long stretches of talk and quiet punctuated by sharp, sudden bursts of action. Two brothers, one tender and one volatile, slowly circle each other's loyalties and grief, and the bond between them is the emotional spine. Intensity: moderate to strong. Several gunfights and a police officer's death, with real gunplay, some bloody injury, and a car fire; no sexual content, and the tone stays more tense than gory. For people who want a crime story with a western's landscape, grounded performances, and a strong sense of place.
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