The film makes no allusions to who it thinks the real villains are in its narrative. Like Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly (2012), the film’s main flaw is the lack of subtlety in conveying the culpability of the banking sector in the financial crisis. It was their greed that caused it and there was no bailout for the people whose lives were ruined in the resulting crash. Hell or High Water makes this clear during the film's opening moments (graffiti on the first bank reads “3 tours in Iraq but no bailout for people like us”) and is reinforced with nearly every interaction in the film. This is all delivered with such vitriol and righteous anger (especially from the excellent Katie Mixon as a waitress unwilling to hand over her generous tip from Toby to the rangers) that you're willing to overlook a lack of subtlety. This anger simmers steadily but reaches boiling point in the film's second half where it begins to erupt as the net begins to tighten around the brothers.

Praise was deservedly heaped upon Jeff Bridges for his role (he received a best supporting actor nomination) as the Ranger tracking the criminals. While he teases his partner relentlessly he’s also empathetic with the public, treating each witness with paternal care. There’s shades of his performance as Rooster Cogburn in the Coen’s True Grit (2010) in Hamilton’s almost incomprehensible Texas drawl. Chris Pine was only available to shoot for two weeks in a brief break whilst filming Star Trek: Beyond (2016), it's easily his finest performance. You get the sense that Toby was the pragmatic mediator in the family able to navigate warring personalities, more patient and cool headed than his brother. There’s none of the insouciant charm Pine employs in the Star Trek films and while he’s not as quick to temper as Tanner that same violence is still bubbling under the surface. Ben Foster’s Tanner is a creature of pure id, governed by a deep seated need to prove himself, he is twitchy and garrulous but clearly damaged by a difficult life and his time inside. It’s a shame that Gil Birmingham’s Parker isn't fleshed out a little more, he’s given little to do besides react to the boisterous Hamilton though still he makes do and gives as good as he gets.