Wind River - Review
This review of Wind River is spoiler-free!
Taylor Sheridan has had a strong amount of recent success in Hollywood with a lot of films focused on barren lands and character relationships. Writing for both Sicario (soon) and Hell or High Water, he's shown a great talent and handling these style of films. Making his first dive into the idea of being a writer and a director, he landed on Wind River as that film. Having been a big fan of his past two films, I'm ashamed to admit that I had no idea who he was until Wind River. In retrospect though, I can't help but recognize that massive talent Sheridan has for films of this style and after watching this movie I want to see more from him as a director and writer. Well, enough talk about the director, I think it's time we dive in what Wind River is about, and just how good of a film this is!
Wind River is an indie film about life on the American Indian reservation in a Wyoming in the midst of a chilling winter. Cory Lambert, one of our main characters, is a wildlife agent for this reserve and hunts down animals that are either wreaking havoc or overpopulating in order to keep control. Unfortunately, though he finds the body of a young woman who is found to be raped. This brings the young and inexperienced new FBI agent Jane Banner to the reservation and she enlists the help of Lambert to help understand the mysterious circumstances in which her death occurred, which leads them down a darker path than they could ever imagine. Honestly, Wind River has a great story, but at times it felt rather slow with the character building. This is not to say Wind River is a bad movie by any standards, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if a different team tackled a similar premise. Regardless, a good story with a few points that just felt unnecessary in my opinion.
The main characters of Wind River though are where this film really excels. It's not secret from those of us who are interested in the Marvel Cinematic universe that Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen have great chemistry. Renner's Lambert is played with a quiet compassion for the world that surrounds him, he doesn't necessarily kill because he enjoys it, he does it because its necessary. Like this setting they find themselves in Lambert has a pain behind his eyes because of his own family's past and Renner is just stellar in this role. He makes the character so much more than just a generic hunter. Olson's Jane Banner for me wasn't as great of a character, she plays the role well but the material she was given to work with at times just felt aimed at the generic stereotype of women not being able to do a job as well as men. What makes these two characters so excellent though is that they manage to have a very good relationship throughout the film that could seem like it would end in a predictable place actually doesn't and I praise Sheridan for making that choice.
What I think stood out the most for though in Wind River is the aesthetic and design of the film as a whole. I didn't realize it when I was first watching it, but sound plays such a major key in this film. There are major points in the film where there is simple silence and all you can hear is the crunching of the snow and something about that is just so excellent. Along with this, the sweeping landscapes of snow make Wyoming feel oh so barren and beautiful. A land that could be considered empty and forgettable just had a sort of character you don't often see in movies because they treat it with so much care. I can't praise the work Sheridan does in this department enough because it really felt like it had a life of its own. Finally, I just want to mention that there is a sequence in the film that while rather vulgar, plays a major part in the film and this may have been my favorite piece in the film as a whole. Great work all around from Sheridan on the design and use of different techniques to elevate the story.
Truth be told, writing this review of Wind River was tough for me simply for the fact that I really didn't remember the film all the well. I watched the film a few weeks before writing this and the reason it is so late is that I have had so much more to write in between. I recognize that there is a large number of people who praise this film on a level that I simply cannot, and maybe that is just because I didn't immerse myself as well as others. Sheridan's work here though to create an interesting world and characters cannot go without stating, and I feel that with a bit more interesting overall narrative it could have been one of the years best. For those though who miss seeing Renner and Olsen on screen, this a perfect way to get more of them while we wait for their returns to the MCU. Check out Wind River on digital and blu-ray!
