Doing bad things for the right reasons

Hell or High Water is a movie about the disenfranchised landowners of rural Texas and the rich and ruthless banks. It’s about the white Americans and the native Americans.

However, there is no black and white in this story. There is no right and wrong. There is a premeditated crime (and murder) being committed; no question about that. Except that most of the motivations that lead up to these moments are not based on actions of evil people per se. These are struggling people trying their best to dig themselves out of a situation which blindsided them.

Setting the story in motion

Marcus Hamilton (played by Jeff Bridges) is a Texas Ranger. Toby Howard (played by Chris Pine) is the mastermind — if you can call it that — of the bank robberies. Story-wise they are both protagonists. Both of them have set out on a quest, and their journey to solve their respective quests is the focal point of the story, with both of them having polar opposite partners.

The entire story of Hell or High Water is set into motion when Toby and Tanner’s mother dies. While taking care of their mother in her final months, Toby discovers oil on the land and concocts a plan to make a leave a generous sum of money for his (two) sons, whilst making amends with his ex-wife by securing her and his sons financially.

The oil company is on board to finance the drilling of the land, but if Toby misses more payments on the mortgage to the bank, the bank will foreclose the ranch and the land.

Stuck between the two (!) institutions — Toby reaches out to his brother Tanner and asks him to help him rob some banks. He plans just to rob enough money to pay the mortgage in full and gain full ownership of the land again.

The brothers are as different as night and day. One is an introverted and thoughtful divorced father of two; the other is a hothead career-criminal who takes actions without ever thinking of the consequences. They went down two very different paths in life, but it’s clear from the first scenes in the movie that the brothers clearly love and have a high respect for each other. It’s about these good people who do bad things for right reasons. Nevertheless, as the saying goes: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Page 48 from the screenplay of “Hell or High Water” (2016)

The brothers are obviously committing crimes by robbing banks- but it’s the only way to get enough money to pay back the loans on the lands left to them by their newly departed mother. Toby has failed both as a father and as a husband, but he’s trying hard to make amends by leaving all the land — and oil — to his sons.

It’s when the dualistic nature of the narrative is disturbed that — for the characters in the story — life changing events are then set into motion. The dynamic has changed. Toby becomes separated with his wife and moves back home to take care of his dying mother. Again, two of everything: two women.

Pissed off

Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has with Toby Howard created a fascinating personality as the main protagonist. On the surface level, there is very little to him. He is not reckless like his brother and he doesn’t seem all that interesting or a character you as the audience would automatically root for. He is somewhat cautious and often tells his brother to slow down — both figuratively and literally. The only one time does Toby lurch out, is at the gas station when Tanner is threatened by some rednecks.

He is fascinating character from a narrative point of view due to his ability to always have at least one person “pissed off at him”.

Page 80–81 from the screenplay of “Hell or High Water” (2016)

Splitting up

It’s only in the second half of the movie that the dual nature of things gets disrupted. Toby and Tanner start to drive in separate cars. Tanner wants to bring a lot of heavy weapons with him and Toby refuses to drive in a car stocked with enough rifles and machine guns to fight a small war.

The Texas Rangers also start to split up or separate. While Marcus and Alberto are watching one of the banks they that predict the brother will rob next- Marcus decides to sleep the night on the bench overlooking the bank, while Alberto checks into a nearby hotel to spend the night. Alberto changes into fresh clothes and Marcus sleeps in yesterday’s clothiers. The two Texas Rangers, therefore, don’t wear the same shirts anymore. It’s direct continuation of their first conversation in the movie, albeit non-verbal this time.

Page 11 from the screenplay of “Hell or High Water” (2016)

It’s not explicitly explained in the screenplay, but in the scene in the final movie, it’s very clear that the two Rangers now wear different shirts. They are drifting apart.