HELL OR HIGH WATER

These two and the supporting cast are excellent, but what makes this film special is Jeff Bridges... being Jeff Bridges. Having made a name for himself as the go-to for “Gruff Old Dude with Distinctive Voice”, Bridges does not disappoint. As Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, looking to close one last case before being put out to pasture, drags around his “half-breed” partner, peppering the man with racist insults and rough affection from dawn ‘til dusk. The other superb performance is from Gil Birmingham (‘House of Cards’) as that long-suffering partner, and when it all goes down in the end, it’s his role that plays a pivotal part. All four main players deliver career-making performances. While the going is heavy enough to shed a tear, you will also laugh (mostly in shock at some of Bridges’ lines).

Production value is top notch, as is the soundtrack. Director David Mackenzie (whose résumé holds nothing at all recognizable – why?) and his team chose cinematography and music that speaks to the soul of anyone who’s ever lived on the land. Watching this film, I wondered if perhaps we should convince Mackenzie to come out here and make a film about the Outback, because this bloke gets it.

Entirely relevant to the current financial climate in America, and eminently relatable here too, this is a film that reaches out and takes hold of you. Peeling back the layers of morality about what it means to do right by your family and what it means to seek justice, ‘Hell or High Water’ is a valuable tale of loyalty and desperation in everyday people.