Hell or High Water

[TrenterPercenter]

Great film, it's being compared to No Country for Old Men but this isn't a good comparison really as this film is much deeper than that (though not altogether a better film).  Brilliant acting from all the cast and while Chris Pines is rightly being hyped it was Ben Foster I thought that really put in the best performance as the delightfully maniacal bigger brother.  Then you have Jeff Bridges doing what he does awesomely and Gil Birmingham equally outstanding.

Genuinely a film that draws you in and makes you think about why everything you are witnessing is happening rather than just simply waiting for "it" to happen.  It doesn't take any wrong steps IMO and doesn't try to tell or explain anything more than it needs too regarding what is essentially a reality drenched nightmarish critique of capitalism that is both beautiful and brutal.


Go see it, great movie.

[Steven]

I only heard about this today from someone, with a dripping of 'like the Coen brothers' all over it.

So, there's that?

[TrenterPercenter]

Yeah there is an element, and a tiny part of me thinks that it doesn't pull it off quite but that is by and large because it is much darker.

Check it out, probably in the top 3 films I've seen this year.

[Steven]

Yeah there is an element, and a tiny part of me thinks that it doesn't pull it off quite but that is by and large because it is much darker.

Well, early Coen's was quite dark, Blood Simple? I'll give this a go soon.

[Noodle Lizard]

I liked it.  Coen Bros comparisons are very much superficial, and I wouldn't have even made the connection other than the setting being similar to No Country For Old Men.  So definitely don't let that put you off.

It's well-paced, tastefully-written and raises a few interesting points of debate, especially regarding the relationship between modern-day Americans and Natives.  Nicely fleshed-out, morally ambiguous characters rather than "good guys/bad guys" - you're encouraged to judge each character's motivations and actions on your own, it doesn't really hold your hand in that regard.

It's got a good sense of humour to it as well.  It does go a bit GTA towards the end, which I think they could've quite easily avoided in favour of something a bit more subdued, but I understand why they did it.  It also has great performances from both Ben Foster[nb]Foster's a solid actor, he's been in a ton of shit films but is always a standout[/nb] and Jeff Bridges (Chris Pine was fairly standard).

Overall, quite liked it.  Not sure I'll go back to it anytime soon, but I'd recommend it.

[weekender]

Here is the previous short thread about this film which you couldn't find because someone got the title slightly wrong.

Gosh, that sounded slightly aggressive, didn't it?  It wasn't meant to be; in my head it was merely a factual observation.  Maybe I am autistic.

The only other thing I can think of adding at this point is that apparently it circulated highly on some sort of Black List - basically films that people would like to see, but haven't been greenlit.

I can sort of see why - there's a fair amount of cliches/tropes - and in the wrong hands it could have been crap.  But, with the performances and the soundtrack, it actually elevates itself into a really nice little film.

[zomgmouse]

"Do you think they get that it's the banks who rob people yet?"
"No, better get one of the characters to say it explicitly, again."
"Okay. As long as they get that the BANKS are ROBBING THE PEOPLE."

- my impression of the screenwriting process

[Moribunderast]

I thought it was a good film but am somewhat baffled to see it making so many year-end Top 10 lists. It was a fairly formulaic, standard thing, wasn't it? Performances were good and it was well directed but there was really nothing that made it stand out as an excellent movie to my eyes. Having said that, I kinda feel like this year has been full of good films with very few breaking from 'good' to 'great' so maybe that's the answer.