Hell or High Water 2016

     Toby Howard has been taking care of his sick mother while his brother Tanner has been in prison.  Their mother passed away and their ranch will be foreclosed on if they can’t pay the money they owe and the back taxes.  They have had the land tested and they can earn $50,000 a month on pumping the oil from the property.  The brothers need $43,000 to pay the Middleton Bank.  They decide they will rob these banks branches and pay the bank back with Middleton money.  Toby doesn’t want the land or the money for himself.  He wants to break the poverty cycle for his two sons and his ex-wife. 

       Toby’s mother had a reverse mortgage and that’s the reason they owe $43,000.  The bank doesn't care about anything or anyone except getting their money and they'd rather get the land than the money.  If Toby and Tanner don't settle this before the due date, the bank will try to foreclose early to make sure they win on this deal.  This is the second time I've seen this film and I think it was better seeing it again.  4* (I really liked this movie)

102 min, Crime directed by David Mackenzie with Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Buck Taylor, Gil Birmingham, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey.

Note:  Imdb 7.7 out of 10, 98% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Amazon Video 4.2* out of 5* with 1782 reviews, Metacritic 88 out of 10 with 47 critics 8.2 out of 10 with 412 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Clovis, Portales, Tucumcari, Albuquerque, Estancia, Quay County, Moriarty, New Mexico; Thatcher, Safford, Arizona.

The phrase come hell or high water means do whatever needs to be done, no matter the circumstances.  The film is dedicated to the parents of director David Mackenzie.  David John Mackenzie and Ursula Sybil Mackenzie both died in 2015 during the making of this film.  Toby offers his older son a beer and Texas is one of ten states that allow underage minors to consume alcohol.  It must be in the privacy of their home or in the presence of consenting and supervising family members.  Although the setting is Texas, no scenes were actually filmed there.  The original title was to be Comancheria, a region of New Mexico, West Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860’s.