Part road movie part crime drama, Hell or Highwater is a good portrait of the same corner of America as No Country for Old Men. It has intelligent statements to make about people on the losing side of the relationship between housing and the banks, and there are scenes of well written dialog throughout.
And yet the picture as a whole feels strangely underwhelming. The atmosphere is rather bland, with little sense of conflict, tension or human drama and the characters are rather one dimensional. They are merely representations of the themes of the story. Their motives are clear but never feel personalized. Jeff Bridges plays the same weary coming-of-age law man that Tommy Lee Jones depicts in No Country for Old Men, but without the heart or the wisdom.
The best scene in the is the last one, where Bridges confronts one of the men that he's been chasing all movie. There is a deeper dramatic undercurrent in their exchange that is missing from the rest of the movie.
Without the gripping performances or much in the way of visual style, Hell or High Water is no more memorable than a low budget television movie. This is a case of good premise, weak execution.
And yet the picture as a whole feels strangely underwhelming. The atmosphere is rather bland, with little sense of conflict, tension or human drama and the characters are rather one dimensional. They are merely representations of the themes of the story. Their motives are clear but never feel personalized. Jeff Bridges plays the same weary coming-of-age law man that Tommy Lee Jones depicts in No Country for Old Men, but without the heart or the wisdom.
The best scene in the is the last one, where Bridges confronts one of the men that he's been chasing all movie. There is a deeper dramatic undercurrent in their exchange that is missing from the rest of the movie.
Without the gripping performances or much in the way of visual style, Hell or High Water is no more memorable than a low budget television movie. This is a case of good premise, weak execution.