One of the Cannes premieres we’re most looking forward was a late addition: Starred Up director David Mackenzie‘s Texas-set drama Hell or High Water. Featuring a script by Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan, Chris Pine and Ben Foster lead the story of two brothers — a divorced father and ex-con — who plan a bank robbery to save their farm, and the illustrious Jeff Bridges as the Texas ranger who’s soon on their heels. Ahead of a premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, the first trailer has now landed ahead of an August release.
As evidenced in Mackenzie’s last film, he knows how to craft a great deal of suspense, and looks to do so on a much bigger scale here. “The movie has a lot of themes that are running in the American election, really: guns, oil, banks,” Mackenzie tells NY Times. Check out the trailer and poster below and return for our review out of Cannes shortly.
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.
Hell or High Water arrives on August 12th.