HELL OR HIGH WATER

 British director David Mackenzie has been making films for around twenty years now and with his varied output I suppose he could be called one of 'the new auteurs'. The fact that he isn't necessarily that prolific only piques our interest. He made "Hell or High Water" in the US in 2016 and it was nominated for Best Picture which proves that really good independent cinema can find favour and a market. Superbly written by Taylor Sheridan, it's the story of two brothers who become somewhat less than competent bank-robbers in an effort to raise enough money to save their late mother's ranch. The brothers are Chris Pine and a brilliant Ben Foster, (surely one of the best actors working anywhere today), and an even better Jeff Bridges is the grizzled old sheriff on their trail. It's the kind of movie the Coen Brothers might have made but not improved on and it has a real feeling for the New Mexico landscapes where it was filmed, (it's beautifully shot by Giles Nuttgens), and you would never guess watching it that Mackenzie himself wasn't American. There's also a terrific Nick Cave/Warren Ellis score; the perfect package, in fact.