Hell or High Water

Hell or High Water, another Oscar best picture nominee, kind of takes off from Fargo and No Country for Old Men, and does a fair to middlin' job of it - and would be even better if those previous films didn't exist. But that's the hell of it, ain't it? It's hard to beat great films on their own turf. Nonetheless, this is a very engaging film, and affords a bit of a view into the redneck, cowboy, prairie dog mythos, featuring what has become a stock theme in the American narrative, seeded at this point inextricably into our society - the conviction that our land, our rights, our livelihood has been stolen by government, banks and corporations. We become, therefore, a society of Robin Hoods, taking from the rich (who, after all, have taken from us) and giving to the poor (ourselves). In short, we are forced to transgress common law and morals by a sort of usury in high places; and, of course, transgressing,  in the mythos, becomes transcendent. The masses plug into the 'eee-van-jelical' preacher who preaches, in pretty words, a sermon of small minded ignorance and greed, and who, according to the Texas Ranger in this movie (Jeff Bridges), wouldn't know God if he crawled up his pant leg and bit his pecker. There are some delightful characterizations in this movie along with a husky helping of southwestern mannerisms and language. Fun to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there😅