The ending of Yellowstone may have left a bad taste in some people’s mouths, but there are undoubtedly still a legion of Taylor Sheridan fans out there who still love his work. The filmmaker is arguably at his best when writing film scripts, as evidenced by Sicario, Wind River, and Hell or High Water. That latter film is arguably his most acclaimed script, garnering a massive 97% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 88% audience rating. The film earned Sheridan an Oscar nomination for his script, and was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor, with that nod going to star Jeff Bridges. Now Hell or High Water is a big streaming hit eight years after its release.
The Western heist film stars Bridges alongside Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, Dale Dickey, and Sheridan himself, and was directed by David Mackenzie (who also made the masterpiece, Starred Up). Its plot synopsis reads as follows:
“Toby is a divorced father who’s trying to make a better life for his son. His brother Tanner is an ex-convict with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that’s about to foreclose on their family ranch. Standing in their way is Marcus, a Texas Ranger who’s only weeks away from retirement. As the siblings plot their final robbery, they must also prepare for a showdown with a crafty lawman who’s not ready to ride off into the sunset.”
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Hell or High Water has been climbing the Top 10 charts of Paramount+ since it was added six days ago, gaining a spot every other day or so, and currently ranks seventh across the streaming platform. It’s flanked by Bad Santa 2 (for the holiday season) and Transformers One (a big 2024 release). It’s a phenomenal film, and if you haven’t seen it, you should log onto Paramount+ (or get a free trial, or rent the film digitally) and check it out.
Jeff Bridges Is a Western Master
Hell or High Water is hardly Jeff Bridges’ first foray into the Western genre. The great actor starred in some Westerns back in the 1970s, such as Rancho Deluxe and Hearts of the West, but the actor really started to hit his stride in the ’90s. He played Wild Bill Hickock in Wild Bill, and his country-fried Western musician character in Crazy Heart earned him an Oscar.
Bridges would of course go on to star in the Coen brothers’ surprisingly brilliant remake of the John Wayne Western classic, True Grit. That performance earned him another Oscar nomination (and the film received 10 nominations in total) and would become one of his best. His most recent work, the underrated TV series The Old Man, certainly has inflections of the Western genre, as does his character. It’s another one of his excellent roles, but if you’ve seen Hell or High Water, you know it’s stiff competition.
- Release Date
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August 12, 2016
- Runtime
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97minutes
- Distributor(s)
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Lionsgate