Director: Taylor Sheridan
By Alex Watson
Beneath its snowy winter exterior, Taylor Sheridan's Wind River is a movie where secrets are lost on the wind. After grabbing an Oscar nomination for his fine screenplay for Sicario, Sheridan proves he is also a fine talent behind the lens as well. This crime drama is like a ticking time bomb of tensions and Sheridan makes full use of the desolate Wyoming backdrop. A pair of fine lead performances by Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen is a compliment to Sheridan's fine style.
Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is a local tracker and hunter who takes care of wildlife problems. One day while travelling by snowmobile he finds the bloody and frozen corpse of Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Chow) a Native American girl who was once friends with his daughter. FBI agent Jane Banner is called in to assist when it is suspected to be a homicide but finds herself unprepared for the harsh winter. After an autopsy reveals the victim was raped, a dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues.
Opening with a clearly terrified and barefoot Natalie running across a snow covered terrain, it is clear something has scared her to the core. Wind River is a slow cooker and Sheridan lets us see Cory in his quieter moments first. A man still mourning the tragic death of his daughter, he is simply trying to live with the pain he has. Sheridan makes us feel the icy cold of the surroundings and there is a sinister menace that mocks the residents on the breeze. Banner's arrival does shake up the locals as her 'strictly business' approach fails to endear her. Although Cory is not law enforcement, he and Jane are forced to work together as there is no better tracker around than him. At first, the pair does not bond well, but eventually, she comes to depend on his knowledge.
Sheridan is unafraid at showing us the ugly side of this drama, one visit by Jane to Martin Hanson (Gil Birmingham) reveals his wife's tragic breakdown. There are also moments of pure shock such as a botched raid on a shack full of drug addicts. Sheridan has the jump scare factor aced here and there are few minutes in this picture which inspire calm. Getting the tribal members to talk in this region is hard, especially since the majority of crimes against them go unnoticed. Police Chief Ben (Graham Greene) is attempting to keep order with minimal staff in an area 'the size of Rhode Island'. Wisely we are not given any real leads as to who the guilty person could be? The snow covered ground has covered a lot of tracks- though Cory as a tracker is an expert at spotting tiny details.
The third act of Wind River is where Sheridan's talent really shines. When the crime is revealed we are treated to a flashback that is so grotesque and uncomfortable it makes us feel ill. Think Hell or High Water meets Deliverance. The lengths people will go to protect others is horrifying and there is an intense paranoia all around. Possibly the tensest scene comes from when 10 people comprised of law enforcement, oil workers and Jane all decide to point guns at each other. It's a scene where things could get out of control fast and when everyone has itchy trigger fingers, it can only go south. This community has an 'eye for an eye' feel and there is a last act of revenge by Cory that continues this trend. Sheridan's movie is a rare beast and shows us that beneath the picturesque landscape, horror can be found everywhere.
Jeremy Renner showcases what a fine leading man he can be as Cory. Although a fascinating presence in The Hurt Locker, Arrival and The Town, Renner will mostly be remembered as The Avengers Hawkeye. The layers he adds to Cory are simply stunning and he gives the impression of a man holding on. His character possesses some good wits and is unafraid to get his hands dirty. Elizabeth Olsen is one of Hollywood's most underrated talents and as Jane, she shows just why she should be richly rewarded. At first a slightly obnoxious by-the-book agent, it becomes clear that she will need to go against her principles to get the desired result. Together Olsen and Renner make a good double act that ties the movie together nicely.
Wind River is a movie that will hopefully garner Sheridan some much-needed attention come award season. One of the best Hollywood writing talents now proves he has a director's eye to match.
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