Review of Wind River (2017) by Reuben M — 05 Nov 2018

I was excited to see this film, because writer/director Sheridan did one of my favorites from last year, HELL OR HIGH WATER. That film featured a great script, tight direction, a well-cast team doing some of their best work, great cinematograpy and a tone that kept things serious, but somehow still full of lightness and energy.

WIND RIVER does many of the same things, but the sense of lightness to cut through the darkness is missing almost completely. It's a grim and sad story, with only a few moments of humor. It's still a very good movie and I recommend it...but lightning didn't strike twice either. It's a bit more SICARIO (which was also Sheridan...a tight, well-crafted film that didn't move my heart) than HELL OR...

Set in some of the bleakest, coldest reservation land in Wyoming, WIND RIVER tells of the story of the seeming murder of a young woman from the reservation, who froze to death in the middle of nowhere while clearly on the run from something. Jeremy Renner, who works for the Wildlife Department as a hunter, finds the body. He knows the young lady, who was best friends with his daughter, who has been dead 3 years herself. Thus Renner, who is our main protagonist, is a man full of sadness...and thus the film is infused with sadness. The FBI sends in its nearest agent to just take a look around and see if there's anything there for them to work on, and of course, it's "rookie" Elizabeth Olsen, who is eager to work the case but doesn't have a great sense of the society and the land she's ended up in. Most of the chuckles in the film come from her "fish out of water" character...the jokes are often a bit obvious, although well played.

Secrets and more secrets are uncovered....but when we get to the truth of the matter, it's a far more ugly, unattractive and sad truth than we might have imagined. The final scenes of the movie are crazy, with horrible explosions of violence and a startling flashback that lays the truth bare.

The plot of the film isn't actually too complex. What gives the film heft and seriousness is more the characters, the society and the land. The snowcovered landscape is very well captured and the sense of cold really permeates the film. Most of the characters are good, solid but flawed people...just trying to do the right thing and to live up to what they think their responsibilities to the world and each other are. But there are enough bad folks around who either by design or by character do everything they can to make the lives of "decent" people depressing and dangerous.

It's a pretty gripping film, and while grim, it's not as bluntly cynical as SICARIO was. There are glimmers of hope for the characters...even when it's clear that the place they live will never allow them to truly blossom. Renner gives a good, solid performance...perhaps not quite Oscar caliber, but convincingly done. The always welcome Graham Greene is on hand as a local law enforcement official, and I have always loved his line delivery. Just the right mixture of dryness and humanity. Gil Birmingham, who was SO good as Jeff Bridges's partner in HELL OR..., excels in a smaller role. And Elizabeth Olsen does all she can with a somewhat cliched and predictable role. We've seen this character (the inexperienced, FEMALE law officer) many times before...but she gives it her all and manages to find some nuances we haven't quite seen before. She's always been an engaging actor.

So WIND RIVER, while not an "enjoyable" entertainment, is more than worth your time. Taylor Sheridan is CLEARLY a major talent to be reckoned with...a great, AMERICAN voice, with the kind of attention to detail and the land and to characters as Jeff Nichols (MUD).