WIND RIVER - ****/*****

By Kal Vilmer

"Kill one and let one run away, so we don't piss off the PETA people."

            Wind River is written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who is known for his work on films such as Hell or High Water and Sicario ,and proves once again that the modern western is alive and well. The film stars Jeremy Renner as a wildlife tracker who, while on the search for a lion that is killing the local cattle, discovers the body of a young woman frozen in the snow, at which point an FBI agent played by Elizabeth Olsen is brought in to investigate the murder that has taken place on an Indian reservation in Wyoming known as Wind River. Now, I don't want to delve deeper into the plot as I wouldn't want to spoil you, the reader, the experience of viewing this film as I did, with no expectations and no idea what avenues Sheridan wanted to explore with the film goer.

            One of the things I loved about the film was the striking parallels between the two storylines that are not immediately clear, but as you enter the third act become more apparent. There are also two particular scenes in Wind River that I think will leave most viewers feeling uneasy but are necessary in order to convey the emotional weight that this movie carries. I have no complaints about the film other the fact that I don't really care for Jeremy Renner. He does a great job with the material and he tries to disappear into the role but I can never fully disconnect the character from the actor. One other point that I struggled with was the ending. After the movie has concluded you are left with text on the screen that, while detracting nothing from the film, doesn't seem to add much either. I initially chalked this up to our political climate and saw it as pandering, however the more I thought about it and after doing a bit of research on the making of this film, I understand why it was added.

            There is a clear theme thought the film regarding the treatment of Native Americans and how that treatment has affected their view of the world and in context of the film their view of Olsen's Jane Banner. As with the other two films written by Sheridan, I initially left the cinema feeling confused on my enjoyment of the film, wondering if I had just seen something that just beat me over the head with its point or buried it just enough that I still had to dig for its meaning. Whether this movie is a contender for the Oscar remains to be seen. - 4 out of 5 stars.