Wind River is written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who played David Hale in Sons of Anarchy, and it's a murder mystery film set on an Indian Reservation during the snowy winter in Wyoming. Jeremy Renner stars as Cory Lambert, an expert hunter who, when called out to track some lions in the area, stumbles across the frozen body of a young woman in the snow. Jane Banner, played by Elizabeth Olsen, an FBI agent sent there to solve the case ends up recruiting Cory to help her given his expertise in tracking and together they embark on a dangerous journey to discover the truth behind the young woman's death.
This was a really good film, I went into it knowing pretty much nothing and it was a very pleasant surprise! It's well written, well directed with beautiful cinematography and excellent performances, it's the first Taylor Sheridan film I've watched and he's a good director, based on this at least. It's a film driven more on character than plot and I was invested from start to finish, it's not a perfect film or anything and it's not a story we haven't seen before but it's a well told one either way, the setting itself also plays a major role, the snowy mountains of Wyoming and the desolate landscapes are a character as well!
I've been a Jeremy Renner fan since he played Penn in the first season of Angel and he was great as Cory Lambert, he has that John Everyman thing about him and it works well, I was invested in the character and I sympathised with him, having lost his own daughter under similar conditions as the young woman it's a personal issue to him and his motives are clear. Elizabeth Olsen was also great, she's the outsider, to the location at least, and through her we experience and learn about what it's like to live there. I also thought Graham Greene, Julia Jones and Gil Birmingham all delivered good performances.
Wind River deals with a theme of inherent racism towards Native Americans, particularly Native American women and the film ends, don't worry no spoilers, with text reading ''While missing person statistics are compiled for every other demographic, none exist for Native American women'' which is fucking shocking and I looked it up, it's true! Wind River's just one example of this sort of horrific injustice and that's why it opens with text reading ''inspired by actual events'', because it is and it's much worse than a simple murder, it's a murder the American government doesn't give a fuck about!
I'd definitely recommend Wind River to both hard core and casual fans, it's a well made film following a simple narrative around characters with some depth, it's well paced, entertaining and emotionally impactful, I enjoyed it quite a bit and although it isn't perfect and maybe a little forced in moments it's still an enjoyable experience and based on it's real life inspiration it's an important film as well! I'm gonna give Wind River 7.7/10 and highly recommend you watch it, it's an entertaining murder mystery film with intrigue, excitement and an important message at the heart of it, well done Deputy Chief David Hale!
What did you think of Wind River?