Hell Or High Water (Part 2.)

A glance at the 2016 film noir and Western lovechild by David Mackenzie 

Educationally, this movie sits beautifully in it's morally gray seat. Marcus is somewhat racist, and Alberto is the new kid on the block, so at the entrance of the movie you don't want to particularly love either of them, as one seems somewhat inept and the other is annoying. Tanner is a convict, a killer, and a temperamental. willing to do whatever it takes. You can appreciate his resolve, but is also simultaneously a complete sleaze, and a jerk. The only who seems to fully understand his moral standing is Toby. The Texas Rangers are the law, and but are still flawed in their investigation and their ethics. Toby, is a deeply lonely man. He has one goal. He needs to save his mother, but he's a good man with a clean record, and has no want to kill anyone. The first time someone gets shot in a robbery, Toby breaks down at Tanner, yelling and screaming at him for his idiocy, watching his moral standing crumble. All he wants to do is provide for his children and dying mother, and he struggles to deal with his actions, breaking down regularly, while still trying to be the brains and reason on these heists. Tanner deals with all his pain through drinking, anger, and sex it appears, and seeing Toby struggle with these things to no avail while his brother laughs and drives away in to the sunset, is chilling and strikes at the heart of any moral and ethical human being (which would be most who watch the film, hopefully.)

This film is not one oft seen, being not an attempt at the new and innovative, but simply at the perfection of an art. While Brazil or El Topo would be considered to be experimental and innovative in their works of that era, Hell Or High Water takes what a good western should be, takes what a good film noir should be, and meets them together, somehow managing to hit all of the points they needed to. Is the movie's story original? No, racist police officers and their minority partner isn't anything new, but Marcus and Alberto are. A fiery, temperamental convict combined with the smart, logical clean slate isn't new, but Toby and Tanner's deep brotherly relationship is. The beauty of Hell Or High Water is thus: The film's preface is easy to make, simple to implement, and not particularly tough to create. But, David Mackenzie injected every moment with meaning and purpose, not wasting a moment of his 102 minute run time, allowing these characters to fulfill themselves and fill every scene, as you learn that though Toby is smart, he is not the cool headed man you expect him to be: he's still a hot headed Howard. Marcus is racist, but he still absolutely cares for Alberto, his partner of only a few weeks, his racism more a flaw that doesn't deny him his place as a human being, he simply doesn't understand and seems too old to change. Alberto learns technique and crime fighting instincts from Marcus, despite the clear uneven ground their relationships starts on. Tanner learns to understand Toby's actions and praise him for them, knowing exactly who each of them are, and learning to be okay with that.

Hell Or High Water is not a Jodorowsky, nor is it a Kubrick: but Mackenzie's excellent work and clean writing, cinematography, and pure aim of purpose turns Hell Or High Water into a work of art for it's era, and is absolutely worth watching two, three, four times, and more.