See why Ben Foster should be in early discussions for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Hell or High Water has been an unexpected and pleasant addition to the end of the summer movie season. In fact, it is one of the best films released so far this year. Period.
The neo-Western offers thoughtful commentary on the banking industry, the modern American rust belt, and the history of land being taken from those who rightfully think its theirs. It also features fantastic performances from Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster. Pine and Foster play bank robbing brothers with a very specific plan to rob small West Texas branches for a certain amount of money and a certain amount of poetic justice. Bridges is the good ole boy Ranger who's tasked with bringing them in.
Image via CBS Films/Lionsgate
In this exclusive clip, we're happy to highlight Foster's delightful performance as the wilder, more confident brother. If there's any justice, when the Oscar season starts kicking off from the film festival buzz in September, Foster won't get lost in the dust. He plays the role just right and resists the urge to go over the top and play Tanner like an itchy trigger-finger firecracker. He and Pine have an easy, lived-in and believable chemistry as brothers. And in this clip, a casino hotel clerk (Alma Sisneros) labels Tanner "trouble", but he might be better described as "Money" (a la Vince Vaughn's flirty catch-phrase in Swingers).
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Hell or High Water expands nationwide Friday, August 19. You can read my review by clicking here. Or read the official synopsis for Hell or High Water below.
A story about the collision of the Old and New West, two brothers — Toby (Chris Pine), a straight-living, divorced father trying to make a better life for his son; and Tanner (Ben Foster), a short-tempered ex-con with a loose trigger finger — come together to rob branch after branch of the bank that is foreclosing on their family land. The hold-ups are part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that powerful forces beyond their control have stolen from under their feet. Vengeance seems to be theirs until they find themselves in the crosshairs of a relentless, foul-mouthed Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last triumph on the eve of his retirement. As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their plan, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the last honest law man and a pair of brothers with nothing to live for except family collide.
