Hell or High Water: Not As Thought Provoking As The Review Says?
Hell or High Water has already a buzz after its limited release in theater last August 12. It draws different opinion from movie critics and regular moviegoers. Is the film really thought provoking as many claim that it is? Is the film worth watching in the cinema?
Dustin Heller of Fox TV says the movie "Hell or High Water" is the best movie that he's seen this year. Owen Gleiberman of Variety sees it as "a thrillingly good move." The film which actually came under the official selection of the UN CERTAIN REGARD Festival De Cannes. A tale of two brothers who come together to try to save their family land owned by their dead mother.
#HellOrHighWater a Coen brothers movie not made by Coen brothers. One of the bests of the year pic.twitter.com/POlKj4Cdld
— Ratheesh (@ratheeshkv) September 5, 2016
Huffington Post looks at "Hell or High Water" as a parable but at the same time a problem. The film is said to be thought provoking in the sense that it asks about what is just rather than what is legal. The setting is in West Texas where bankers are the only people that are well-off. These particular people have economic and political control through the help of the law.
However, the review shows that there is nothing really thought provoking about this movie. Americans actually feel that the same "system is being applied by big businesses, financial institutions, government and those at Wall Street to name a few. They see the law as making the well-connected and the wealthy making progress at the cost of the majority.
The film is emotionally-moving which leads the viewers to see as justice seeing the need to mock the law at times. This is evident when the Texas Ranger asks witnesses about the the incident and they refuse to cooperate. They do so because they hate the bankers and not because they respect the brothers.
The Good Men Project reports that "Hell or High Water" is written by Taylor Sheridan under the direction of David Mckenzie. Chris Pine and Ben Foster portrays the brothers who rob banks to be able to pay off the bank that threatens to take their dead mother's farm.
The movie is said to be an eye-opener on how banks really are in real life. The lack of compassion and brutal methods are what these institutions really portray. The good guy is actually the bad guy, the bad guys being the good guys while the banks are the robbers.
The cinematography is gorgeous and the visuals are on point of what the state of economy was at that time. Panoramic shots were also beautiful in terms of lighting. In addition, a certain scene showed a bit of a blind spot when it comes to racism. Although the film is far from perfect,Jeff Bridges' performance was fantastic as he portrays the character flawlessly.
Overall, "Hell or High Water" shows the realism of what the world is really like today. This movie points out a lot of things that needs to be addressed since time eternal. But our economy is run by those in power and that are well-connected. As for those that don't have that kind of privilege...well, acquiring justice can still be a far cry.
