DIRECTOR: Taylor Sheridan LEAD CAST: Kelsey Asbille, Jeremy
Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Julia Jones, Graham Greene SCREENWRITER: Taylor Sheridan PRODUCER: Matthew
George, Basil Iwanyk, Wayne Rogers EDITOR: Gary
Roach MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Nick
Cave, Warren Ellis GENRE: Drama, Suspense, Mystery CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Richardson DISTRIBUTOR: Voltage Pictures LOCATION: USA RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes
Technical assessment:
3.5
Moral assessment: 3.5
CINEMA rating: V14
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sends its newbie female agent Jane
Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) on a mission to investigate the rape and murder
of a native girl in a far flung Native American Reservation area called Wind
River. She teams up with Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a local game tracker and
sympathizer of the community in view of his haunted past involving the similar
fate of a murdered daughter and his guilty feeling for not protecting her. Lambert
discovers the dead body of the victim Natalie Hanson (Kelsey
Chow) in the snow which brings the lead to track the villains and helps Agent
Banner solve the case.
Wind River captures in its sensible script the relevant issue
of hazardous environment in a poverty stricken area and the need to protect the
people from both natural and human-orchestrated disasters. Dialogues
are short but witty and poetic at some point. The director did an
excellent work in the treatment of the story. Acting, especially
Renner’s, is convincing and projects depth in characterization. The
cinematography likewise gives a stunning view of snowy production design and
somehow brings a virtual freezing experience to the viewers. Editing
is clean, gives smooth transitions of investigative scenes and
consistent compositions. Overall, the film has good technical qualities for
visual delights, suspense, and actions.
The marginalized poor, especially females in far
flung areas, are likely victims of unscrupulous criminals like rapists and
murderers who objectify women. Wind River shows how men in such remote
communities use their isolation and loneliness as an excuse for lawlessness and
brutality, and use power to hide their crime and escape justice. Apparently,
much is to be desired in the delivery of government and police services to
this vulnerable sector. This underscores
the outcast status of native Americans in society. In Wind
River, it needed a person who is nursing revenge in his heart to team up
with an inexperienced female FBI agent to solve the crime of missing
persons. CINEMA commends the film for putting to light the plight of native
Americans. Aside from the violent nature of the film, viewers might find
disturbing the themes of the government’s lax treatment of the community’s concerns,
alcoholism, drug addiction, group rape, and revenge shown in the film.
