Wind River (2017)

Taylor Sheridan’s left-field, superior detective drama set on a snowy Wyoming native reservation has atmosphere, tension and a terrific cast. Unfairly criticised for its racial politics on release, this is part police procedural, part revenge Western and has some finely nuanced playing from all involved, with Jeremy Renner finally getting to prove his acting chops in a thoroughly understated but dominant performance.

When wildlife ranger Corey Lambert (Renner – Arrival, Avengers) finds dead Native teenager Natalie out on the reservation, it brings back memories of his own murdered daughter, Emily. Working with the cynical reservation police chief (Graham Greene – Dances with Wolves) and a seemingly lightweight young FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen – Captain America), Lambert is drafted into the investigation where his hunting and tracking skills come into their own.

Separated from his native wife (Julia Jones – Twilight) and friends with the tribe, Lambert has all too painful insights on grief to share with the father of the victim (a towering Gil Birmingham). To be churlish, you could complain this is the white guy riding to the rescue of the Native American community, but that is a fundamental misreading of Sheridan’s (writer of Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water) script, which sensitively handles the plight of Native Americans and is all too aware of the outstanding crimes, past and present, unanswered in the US.

Olsen’s fish-out-of-water FBI agent turns out to have a core of steel whilst remaining empathetic and sympathetic; its a revelation from Olsen and we could have appreciated more screen time from her both as action woman and character actress. Now what could she have done with Sicario?

In flashback, John Berthnal (The Accountant) as the older boyfriend of the murdered Emily – Kelsey Chow – both feature in short but captivating cameos.

The detective plot, such as it is, reaches a brutal and viloent conclusion at the start of act three but that isn’t the real finale. Lambert unfalteringly serves cold justice and it’s no stretch to connect the Natalie murder to his own daughter’s death.

Staged as chilly and bleak as a Scandi-noir, Wind River is, if you like, the flip-side of Denis Villeneuve’s frenetic and angry Prisoners; just as intelligent, Wind River is not afraid to take its time in the wide Wyoming landscapes, nor in the slow, pain-soaked dialogue scenes, mostly well-observed and constructed, claustrophobic two-handers, that could stand alone as acting master-classes. In most of these you feel like an intruder in the confessional.

Served as an object lesson in intelligent film-making, in contrast to the daft and fractured Snow Man, Wind River doesn’t offer easy answers or an easy watch; just watch. RC

Wind River (2017)
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
Running time: 111 minutes
Certification: R/18
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Gil Birmingham, John Berthnal, Emily chow, Julia Jones