Now, I've been dying to see this for ages - it's not easy though, with so much else on, and so many highly rated films. Plus, the last time I wanted to see it, it was only on at silly times. So I was thrilled to discover that it was showing in Cineworld Chelsea at 8:30 - and that I could get a variety of buses from the end of the road, which would get me there in about 15 minutes. I wouldn't think it was that easy to park up there, so bus it was..
It all went beautifully. It was late enough that I could eat comfortably beforehand, the #49 came just as I approached the stop, and sure enough, within 15 minutes, I hopped off just down the road from the cinema. It's a very small one - only four screens, as it turns out, and this was showing in No. 4, in the basement. With no-one to check my ticket, I just wandered down there - they were still cleaning it, so I waited around for a bit. When I did get in, I discovered that the screen was quite short - as one guy later remarked, the diagram online was misleading, implying that it stretched all the way across, while actually, sat at the side as I was, I was at something of an angle. Didn't prove a problem, in the end.
Hell or High Water is a modern-day Western, set in Texas, where two brothers set out to rob the bank that is threatening to foreclose on the family farm. One is played by Chris Pine - I thought he looked familiar, and indeed, he's Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek films. Wow, he looks so much more grown-up in this! What a difference a beard makes. Jeff Bridges plays the Texas Ranger on their trail.
The writer, Taylor Sheridan, also wrote Sicario. Ah, now that should prick up a few ears - and sure enough, it seems this guy can do no wrong. From the very, very first scene - just like Sicario - you can tell you're watching something special. In a way - like Sicario - it should be relentlessly depressing. We're left in no doubt about the economic straits the locals of these small, Texan towns are reduced to - the first scene includes graffiti about war veterans not being entitled to a bailout, and almost every single character (the Rangers excepted) holds the banks in contempt. The banker that's trying to foreclose on the farm? Absolutely sleazy, when we finally see him, near the end. Wouldn't trust him not to pick your pocket.
But oh, the cinematography is beautiful - wide landscapes, broad skies. And the soundtrack - including Nick Cave - is achingly good. I bought a copy straight away after coming home. Mark my words, this is a classic - I would hate not to have seen it. At the start of another miserable week at the office, this is the kind of film that reminds me of what's good in the world.
Tomorrow, failing better offers, I'm off to another of those over-advertised free comedy nights in Hammersmith - so I've booked with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Farringdon: London Live Comedy: London Art, Comedy and Culture Lovers (who, for once, aren't charging extra for booking): and London for a Tenner or Less. Who will probably cancel the listing halfway through the event - hilarious when you see they've done that, and you're actually at the "cancelled" event. Anyway, hope they're good - I'll probably need some cheer, after my first day back in the office after the weekend..
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