A Reel Review: WIND RIVER

Two of the best screenplays in the last couple of years have been penned by Taylor Sheridan; beginning with SICARIO in 2015, and the Oscar-nominated HELL OR HIGH WATER in 2016. Both stories were a variation of cops and robbers which spent a lot of time with characters living on both sides of the law. For WIND RIVER, Sheridan writes and directs, and takes his craft to a new level.

Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), is a hunter for the US Fish and Wildlife Service who discovers a body in the rugged and snowy wilderness of an Indian Reservation. He teams up with rookie FBI Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to solve the mystery.

To say more of the plot would be an act of villainy, as WIND RIVER offers a fair amount of twists and turns along with some surprising connections the characters have to the dead woman found far out in an isolated area of wilderness. As with his previous works, Sheridan keeps his plotting simple; find the bad guy(s) who did the deed. But what makes it work is the amount of time spent with the characters, who actually become more interesting than the plot itself. Lambert has a tragic backstory going on, and his team-up with Banner, who has no idea what to expect in the harsh terrain she finds herself in, offers some great character work.

Familiar elements are present throughout; a seasoned hunter who knows the art of tracking and hunting forming an uneasy alliance with a new “cop” who shows up without as much as a parka or boots to get through feet of snow in bone-chilling weather. Sheridan knows he’s working with familiar tropes, and he manages to avoid any clichés. Lambert and Banner never become an old buddy-cop TV show and the overdone fish-out-of-water routine is smartly underplayed. Having the setting at an Indian reservation also thickens the atmosphere as Sheridan goes into seldom-explored territory; the hard lives and injustices that are still being done to Native Americans. There is an underbelly exposed here that makes WIND RIVER something new and special.

There is still a mystery to be solved in WIND RIVER, and Sheridan keeps us guessing through some clever twists, a brilliant flashback, and a commitment to the good old-fashioned whodunit. There is a subtle (and not-so subtle) theme of predators at work here, and it adds another layer to the film. Pacing and editing are excellent with a few horrific fire-fights, and the snowy terrain is photographed in a way that we can practically feel the chilly air coming off the screen, not to mention the grand scale of the wilderness and territory; making the task of solving the murder seemingly impossible. And despite the snow and the cold, the film has the feeling of a classic Old West story. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis provide a haunting score.

The entire cast are excellent in their roles. Jeremy Renner may be playing an everyday straight-man, but his character’s tragic backstory and connection to the dead girl gives him a lot to work with. His character is carrying a heavy burden, and Renner lets us see it. His chemistry with Elizabeth Olsen is excellent and feels natural; a quiet scene where he spills his guts to her is riveting. Olsen herself goes through a lot and sells it. The rest of the cast, including Graham Green, Jon Bernthal, and most especially Gil Birmingham…as the father of the dead girl, are outstanding.

The finale goes into some dark and disturbing places before settling in on an emotional wallop, and an unexpected epilogue that follows makes WIND RIVER something to think about long after the credits end. Taylor Sheridan has now penned a great screenplay for the third year in a row, and his skill behind the camera has now made him a true force to be reckoned with. WIND RIVER is masterful.

BOTTOM LINE: See it