Original post can be found at GoodTrash Media
This week’s Back to the Movies continues to bring us down from the loud and furious flash resembling nothing of summer 2016 by taking a look at a lesser anticipated film titled Hell or High Water. This week’s podcast is co-hosted by recurring guest host Dalton Stuart of The People’s History of Film who swears he didn’t know this movie was made just for him.
Hell or High Water follows Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Gil Birmingham in a game of cat and mouse between a pair of Texas Rangers as they investigate a string of bank robberies. At this point this modern western sounds like an age old story, but Hell or High Water doesn’t just execute genre, but instead twists it into a far more ambiguous tale.
Dalton and I talk about the film’s portrayal of West Texas and Southwest Oklahoma and its look at the complexities of fighting poverty. It’s a real change of pace from most of the films that have been released this summer and I think you’ll be quite surprised by the result. Does Hell or High Water’s use of trope and genre do enough to deliver something smart and fresh or is this another one for the summer 2016 graveyard?
Caleb Masters 