I have now seen all of the Best Picture Oscar nominees. Hell or High Water is probably the lowest box office grossing movies among the nine and earns its award. It is a very “small” film, set in West Texas and festuring excellent male performances.
Hell or High Water (Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges) – Nominated for Best Picture, Hell or High Water is essentially a buddy flick with modern-day Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid bank robbers trying to evade the local Texas Ranger. But while BCATSK used humor, a great soundtrack, and a beautiful damsel, Hell or High Water just focuses on the guys’ human drama.
With outstanding performances from Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and particularly Best Supporting Actor nominee Jeff Bridges, this “small” film set in West Texas is reminiscent of No Country for Old Men without the gratuitous violence.
It is desolate and dying out around Midland where brothers Toby and Tanner Howard are reunited after their mother dies and Tanner gets out of jail. Tanner (Foster) is the bad boy, the gun happy wild child who never met a bank he didn’t want to rob. Toby is the good hearted guy who took care of mama during her illness but who is estranged from his now ex-wife and two kids. He has done his share of bad things, too, but mainly in the hopeless pursuit of earning enough money to keep the bank from foreclosing on mama’s house.
Desperate, he asks Tanner to help him get the money he needs by robbing banks. They’re smart, picking only little town branches and taking only their small bills. And they are darned successful, too, right up to the point where the local hick Texas Ranger (Bridges) figures out where they are likely to hit next. When the final bank robbery goes bad, all hell breaks loose. People die; a chase ensues; and the brothers split up.
With a laid-back, creative Oscar-nominated original screenplay that never wastes a word, Hell or High Water is the story about the ends justifying the means. Pine and Foster have a smooth chemistry as the fiery, loving brothers. Bridges, as soon-to-be-retired, he’s-seen-everything lawman Marcus Hamilton, adopts a mumbling, Texas accent, adds some weight, and never seems phased by life’s ironies.
This is a fine little film that earns its rightful place next to the other nominees. It is the perfect example of why expanding the number of potential Best Picture nominees to as many as 10 serves Hollywood’s purposes well. With less than $30 million in box office so far, the nomination will likely send that number skyward and give more people the chance to enjoy this buddy flick.