Review: Wind River (2017)

Elisabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner

Director/Screenwriter: Taylor Sheridan
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elisabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Graham Greene, Kelsey Asbille
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images, and language
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Theatrical Release Date: August 4, 2017
On DVD/Streaming: November 14, 2017
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

 Clip: "She Ran Further"

Wind River is not an easy watch, to say the least.  But it's almost essential viewing; it shows us [the audience] a part of the country with which we may have previously been unfamiliar.  I, for one, knew little to nothing about Native American life in Wyoming.  The brisk, brutal, snowy landscape easily matches the tone of the story and the mystery at its center. 

From the opening sequence, which shows a distraught young woman running barefoot on the cold snow, we have an idea as to where the story will take us.  And, for the most part, Wind River delivers, and thankfully it's not too predictable.  It is based on a true story, and I wonder how many liberties were taken; it's not exactly a far-fetched plot, just one that seems almost unfathomable.  Hell or High Water screenwriter Taylor Sheridan makes his directorial debut with Wind River, and proves that he is as adept a director as he is a screenwriter.  Like High Water, Wind River is rife with a kind of moody atmosphere specific to the area in which the story takes place.  In Wyoming, near and on a Native American reservation, the snow is frequent and heavy and the cold bitter; its inhabitants have toughened because to have to in order to survive.  

The Avengers' Jeremy Renner plays Cory, who works for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as a hunter of predators.  When one of his ex-father-in-law's steers is killed by lions, Cory searches for the big cats but comes across the body of Natalie (Kelsey Asbille), the Native American woman we saw in the opening scene.  Inexperienced FBI agent Jane (Renner's Avengers co-star Elisabeth Olsen) arrives to help solve this case, which she is convinced is a homicide and should be ruled as such.  Cory and Jane team up with Police Chief Ben (Graham Greene) to get justice for the rape and beating that lead to Natalie's death.  

The always-reliable Renner is excellent in the lead role.  His performance is, at times, subtle, but in one particular scene when he's recounting to Jane a tragic event, he is undeniably heartbreaking.  Anyone who's seen Olsen's pre-Scarlet Witch work, such as in her break-through role in Martha Marcy May Marlene, knows she is far more talented than her older, famous twin sisters.  She steps up to the challenge here, playing Jane as a determined FBI newbie who won't let anything stop her from getting justice for this horrible crime.  

Fortunately, Sheridan doesn't make us wait too long to find out who killed Natalie.  He doesn't give us too many false leads or crazy, unbelievable twists that take away from the authenticity.  The fact that is a true story certainly helps but, like I said, we don't know how much of Sheridan's script is true and how much is fabricated.  The act of Natalie's rape and beating is extremely horrifying, and the violence following the mystery's solving is no less so.  

I wish we knew a little more about Jane's backstory, other than she is clearly inexperienced and is from Florida.  And the rocky relationship between Cory and his Native American ex-wife isn't explained either.  But that's okay.  Sheridan's script isn't perfect, but he has displayed his prowess as a director.  I hope he continues to work behind the camera.  


Spot the Aspie!: 
There weren't any noticeable aspies in Wind River.  




Grade: B+