Hell or High Water

Besides the superb performances and the captivating script, the best quality of Hell or High Water might be its gritty visual texture.

Every frame of this razor-sharp crime thriller vividly captures the western Texas setting, not just in the sweat dripping from its characters but its backdrop of socioeconomic despair and xenophobic distrust that raises the stakes among both cops and robbers.

The film follows Toby (Chris Pine), a divorced father who teams up with his ex-con brother Tanner (Ben Foster) to rob a series of banks, ostensibly to save their family farm after the recent death of their mother. Their tactics reflect careful planning and shrewd execution, even if the level-headed Toby sometimes clashes with the loose-cannon Tanner. They change getaway vehicles and launder the stolen money to keep it from being traced.

Sent to investigate are the Texas Rangers, led by a detective (Jeff Bridges) who’s near retirement. He immediately notices a pattern in the crimes and organizes a series of stakeouts, resulting in a cat-and-mouse game in which the rules of engagement are increasingly perilous.

The cause of their desperation is only vaguely explained in the screenplay by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) — although it’s likely a downturn in the oil industry, given its setting — and that ambiguity ratchets up the suspense.

The crooks are more clever than they first appear, but so are the authorities in pursuit, which makes for some compelling dynamics even if the justifications for audience sympathy are a little thin.

The personal demons on both sides hint at broader concerns about the evaporation of small-town America in a maze of corporate greed and shifting cultural values, making their actions seem like an act of defiance against the system.

British director David Mackenzie (Perfect Sense) and his crew convey a feel for the material, and the soundtrack is evocative both in its choice of songs and its original score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Hell or High Water is a contemporary Western that doesn’t fall victim to genre pitfalls. In other words, there’s more depth and complexity here than a simple manhunt leading to a climactic showdown. Yet it still dishes out some old-fashioned frontier justice.

Rated R, 102 minutes.