Hell or High Water (2016)

A divorced father and his ex-con older brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's ranch in West Texas.

Director:

David Mackenzie

Writer:

Taylor Sheridan

Stars:

Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 46 wins & 167 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dale Dickey	...	Elsie
Ben Foster	...	Tanner Howard
Chris Pine	...	Toby Howard
William Sterchi	...	Mr. Clauson
Buck Taylor	...	Old Man
Kristin K. Berg	...	Olney Teller (as Kristin Berg)
Jeff Bridges	...	Marcus Hamilton
Gil Birmingham	...	Alberto Parker
Keith Meriweather	...	Rancher
Jackamoe Buzzell	...	Archer City Deputy
Katy Mixon	...	Jenny Ann
Amber Midthunder	...	Vernon Teller
Joe Berryman	...	Bank Manager
Taylor Sheridan	...	Cowboy
Howard Ferguson Jr.	...	Vernon PD Officer (as Howard S. Ferguson Jr.)

Storyline

In Texas, after the death of his mother, the unemployed oil and gas worker Toby Howard is losing his ranch to the Texas Midlands Bank. Toby is divorced from his wife who lives with their two sons. When his brother Tanner Howard is released from the prison, they team up to rob agencies of the Texas Midlands Bank to raise money to pay the loan so that Toby may leave the real estate to his sons. Meanwhile the Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton who is near retirement and his Native American-descendant partner Alberto Parker try to anticipate the next move of the thieves.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | texas ranger | bank robber | native american | brother brother relationship | 

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Taglines:

...you damn right I got a gun on me.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The phrase "come hell or high water" typically means "do whatever needs to be done, no matter the circumstances". It also refers to the "hell or high water clause" in a contract, usually a lease, which states that the payments must continue regardless of any difficulties the paying party may encounter. Both definitions apply to different parts of the plot in this movie.

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Goofs

The town of Post, Texas is described as being "dead". This is far from the truth. The main state highway, which forms the route from Dallas/Fort Worth to Lubbock (which has a population of a quarter million) runs through the middle of town. As there is virtually nothing between cities in that region and no immediate access to gas or fast food without taking business routes, this makes Post a big money-maker for through traffic. The main convenience store does around $4 million in business a year.

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Quotes

Alberto Parker: I'm starving.
Marcus Hamilton: I doubt they serve pemmican.
Alberto Parker: You know I'm part Mexican, too.
Marcus Hamilton: Yeah, well, I'm gonna get to that when I'm through with the Indian insults, but it's gonna be a while.
Bank Manager: You rangers are an odd bunch.
Alberto Parker: No, just him.

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Connections

Featured in Honest Trailers: The Oscars (2017) (2017)

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Soundtracks

You Ask Me To
Written by Billy Joe Shaver & Waylon Jennings
Performed by Waylon Jennings
Courtesy of RCA Records Nashville
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

So entertaining!

The American western seems to be slowly making a comeback in recent years. With films such as The Rover, Slow West and True Grit there have been some interesting and unique approaches to this old genre. Hell or High Water fits right in with these mentioned films by containing a lot of comedy, engaging characters, and no holds barred violence.

Chris Pine and Ben Foster as the bank-robbing brothers share great chemistry and draw sympathy from the audience with compelling performances. Jeff Bridges stands out however as the hardened cop tasked to track down the brothers. His racist slurs and aggravated man persona works perfectly with his gravely, yet genuine voice and he finds perfect timing in his comedic delivery.

The music, done by Nick Cave is also perfect. After crafting one of the greatest scores with Assassination of Jesse James, he gets pretty close to that here with very foreboding and meditative music. Especially right before the big showdown.

And when it all goes down, the film will have you on the edge of your seat. It doesn't hold anything back and people die out of nowhere. It's very realistic and is worth the tension filed build up.

Hell or High Water is a surprisingly great American western.

Hell or High Water (2016) Directed by: David Mackenzie Screenplay by: Taylor Sheridan Starring: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster Run Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Page Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 August 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comancheria

Filming Locations:

Clovis, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$621,329, 14 August 2016

Gross USA:

$27,007,844

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,879,877

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Films, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, MWM Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1