Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Kelsey Asbille, Julia Jones, Teo Briones, Apesanahkwat, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Lange, Gil Birmingham, Tokala Clifford, Martin Sensmeier, Tyler Laracca, Ian Bohen, Hugh Dillon, Matthew Del Negro, James Jordan, Jon Bernthal, Blake Robbins
Soundtrack: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
In a span of less than two years, Taylor Sheridan has proven himself to be one of the great screenwriters of this decade, having previously penned Sicario and Hell Or High Water; and now he proves himself to be a fine filmmaker as well.
Equal parts harsh and beautiful, like the cold western landscapes it so revels in, Wind River is a quiet, mature thriller with genuine emotional depth and down-to-earth characters.
The story is not particularly complicated, a girl’s been murdered on an Indian Reservation and we need to find out who did it, but I don’t mind in this case. Sometimes overly twisty plots can take you right out of the movie if they’re not done with the proper touch, so I applaud the restraint here (aka not everything needs to be The Usual Suspects).
In terms of performances, I’ve had a soft spot for Jeremy Renner since I first noticed him all the way back in 2003’s S.W.A.T. He’s a fine actor who does well with everything he’s given, but he hasn’t gotten many opportunities to truly shine. Wind River is one such opportunity.
Given its August release, I’m not sure how much faith the studio has that Wind River will be major awards bait, but make no mistake, this is the best Jeremy Renner performance we’ve seen in some time. True, it’s very much in his usual understated fashion, but let’s just say he carries a lot of weight in this one.
Naturally, Elizabeth Olsen puts in a good shift as well (what a delight she’s been since seemingly coming out of nowhere in 2011; even if she was in that awful American Godzilla…), and the supporting characters really help fill everything out, particularly Graham Greene and Gil Birmingham (the scenes between he and Renner are among my favorite in the film).
I also give this movie a lot of credit for its realistic and darkly beautiful portrayal of grief (I put it up there with the original Edge of Darkness mini-series), which is something we don’t get enough of in our media across the board (too often it’s played way up, either melodramatically or for comedy’s sake, depending on the context).
Wind River is also remarkably successful at being laid back but never boring, which I attribute to Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay and story structure, dolling out information at a steady enough rate to keep the audience constantly engaged.
Other than that, I don’t have much else to say, good or bad, but if I do have one small criticism, it’s that I felt like this movie could have been more cinematic in its look (sometimes I got a real TV vibe from what I was seeing), but that’s about it.
All-in-all, Wind River is an impressive “debut” from Taylor Sheridan, on par with the classic Coen Brothers noirs (just played a little straighter, as most Coen films are dark comedies at heart), and a fine addition to what continues to be one of the best movie summers I can remember for a long time.
Check it out.
Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)