Wind River review

[Westside Steve]

Wind River
Weinstein
R.                111 min

First of all I understand this one’s been technically released a few weeks ago but in my defense it seems to have only hit a lot of the theaters recently. So this film has just started to pick up some steam due to word of mouth and the lack of quality competition. Not only that but a Cleveland Browns fan buddy of mine from Texas points out that it's from Taylor Sheridan writer ofHELL OR HIGH WATER which I enjoyed pretty well so what the heck.
This one is another bleak western saga, though not Cormac McCarthy bleak, but this time in the frozen and uninviting mountains of Wyoming amongst the reservation.  There has been a brutal murder of a young Indian girl.
Jeremy Renner is Corey Lambert a wildlife officer with cross to bear. He’s tough and even a little bit sullen but that’s to be expected when you discover he is still grieving the death of his daughter and going through what seems to be an unpleasant divorce. So far his job has been hunting down wildcats, mountain lions and other predators
All that is about to change when he finds the Frozen corpse and reluctantly becomes part of the sparse contingent of cops . You see in this part of the country and especially on the reservation there are just not enough funds or interest set aside for the enforcement, or anything else on the reservation.
Adding insult to injury Jane Banner, played by Elizabeth Olsen, is an FBI agent sent from Las Vegas but originally from Florida. You can’t escape the irony that the government would send someone to this frozen wasteland via some of the warmest places in America. Tossed Into the fray without any background information special training or even cold weather gear. But she’s smart and proves to be tougher than anyone thought.
Wind River slogs slowly and painfully through the bitter cold as it set up the background of oppressive poverty among the Indians. I don’t believe they are necessarily trying to gather political accolades as much as show why this particular case is so heartbreaking and hard to solve.
As it turns out the victim have been dating a young man who was one of the security team at a nearby drilling facility. Most of these mugs have begun to go stir crazy and are curiously hostile toward the investigation.
For the first two thirds or so the film is nearly as slow and painful as a Wyoming winter but all at once the action kicks with a vengeance. I won’t give away the plot but you will find it incredibly gripping once it shifts into gear. And let me tell you the bad guys are truly abhorrent.
Wind River, which started off almost unnoticed, seems to be gaining box office credibility with every positive review and I hope this one prompts some of you to add it to your must-see (or at least your probably should see) list.
B+
WSS
 

[FairHooker11]

once again my wife recommended it  (she picks the good ones..)  and you are right, a very good movie.

[The Gipper]

Saw it Friday.  Very impressed.  It didn't help (or perhaps it actually DID help) the atmosphere of the movie that the theater I saw it in was quite cold. I could feel the bleakness.

[FairHooker11]

If the actress (Elizabeth Olsen)  that played the FBI agent from Las Vegas looked familiar to you too - 

I asked my wife if it was one of those Olsen twins from that tv show years ago... turns out that she is the older sister of the twins Mary-Kate &  Ashley 

[The Gipper]

On 9/15/2017 at 9:25 PM, FairHooker11 said:

If the actress (Elizabeth Olsen)  that played the FBI agent from Las Vegas looked familiar to you too - 

I asked my wife if it was one of those Olsen twins from that tv show years ago... turns out that she is the older sister of the twins Mary-Kate &  Ashley 

Her other best known role was in a movie called "Liberal Arts"....starring her and Josh Radnor.  Also in that movie was Allison Janney.  It was set at Kenyon College here in Ohio.  (Both Radnor and Janney went to Kenyon).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872818/

For what its worth....Wind River is a better movie.

[FairHooker11]

while Kenyon sounded vaguely familiar I had to map it....

found it to be slightly to the southeast of Mansfield, but I recognized Perrysville and Loudenville close by

the two towns that have a canoe livery that our Boy Scout troop used when canoeing the Mohican river. 

great memories of that week way back when... 

 

[TexasAg1969]

I saw it last night and my only difference of opinion is the bleakness of Wyoming winter. Having lived in Cheyeene (which is almost prairie bleak except for the in-town planted trees), I used to deer hunt with a friend using a 50lb. recurve bow to the west of there in Kurt Gowdy State Park with similar terrain but not quite as high in mountains. And I used to snowshoe in the back country of the Rocky Mountain NP in Colorado where the deep snow through the woods in mountains looks very familiar.

Anyway I loved this movie. Great dialog with excellent character development throughout. My son worked 2 years on the Zuni Res in N.M. and the bleak life portrayed including the drugs existed there as well. But the Zuni also kept alive a lot of their traditional tribal customs. I would like to have seen a little more of that to portray life on the Res in Wyoming a little more accurately. But all in all a very excellent movie from the guy who made my last great movie to see, "Hell or High Water". I give it an "A" must see rating, but I'm just a little biased by my 5 years in Wyoming and 3 years in Colo. with yearly visits back. I'm an outdoors/outback in the wilds kind of guy. So I felt at "home".

[The Gipper]

1 hour ago, TexasAg1969 said:

I saw it last night and my only difference of opinion is the bleakness of Wyoming winter. Having lived in Cheyeene (which is almost prairie bleak except for the in-town planted trees), I used to deer hunt with a friend using a 50lb. recurve bow to the west of there in Kurt Gowdy State Park with similar terrain but not quite as high in mountains. And I used to snowshoe in the back country of the Rocky Mountain NP in Colorado where the deep snow through the woods in mountains looks very familiar.

Anyway I loved this movie. Great dialog with excellent character development throughout. My son worked 2 years on the Zuni Res in N.M. and the bleak life portrayed including the drugs existed there as well. But the Zuni also kept alive a lot of their traditional tribal customs. I would like to have seen a little more of that to portray life on the Res in Wyoming a little more accurately. But all in all a very excellent movie from the guy who made my last great movie to see, "Hell or High Water". I give it an "A" must see rating, but I'm just a little biased by my 5 years in Wyoming and 3 years in Colo. with yearly visits back. I'm an outdoors/outback in the wilds kind of guy. So I felt at "home".

My brother lived for many years in Cody Wyoming...it is where he got married. While there he did a lot of outfitting and served as a hunting guide. He operated more to the north of the Wind River res., more up in the Absarokas. I don't know how much winter  hunting they did or if he would snowshoe at all. Sounds like you and he may have had some similar experiences.

I have not seen Hell of High Water.....its with Jeff Bridges right?  I will have to get that one.

[TexasAg1969]

37 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

My brother lived for many years in Cody Wyoming...it is where he got married. While there he did a lot of outfitting and served as a hunting guide. He operated more to the north of the Wind River res., more up in the Absarokas. I don't know how much winter  hunting they did or if he would snowshoe at all. Sounds like you and he may have had some similar experiences.

I have not seen Hell of High Water.....its with Jeff Bridges right?  I will have to get that one.

Great movie as well. The man who plays the father (Gil Birmingham) of the Native American woman found dead early in the movie (not really giving much away there) also plays the Texas Ranger partner of Bridges trying to track down bank robbers in the West Texas (filmed in far eastern N.M.) small town areas out there. He does a wonderful job of acting in both movies, but has a little lessor role in Wind River. Like Wind River you feel like you learn a lot about the life and character of people living out there.

Interestingly Birmingham is of Comanche heritage from San Antonio. He actually has a B.S. from SCal and worked as a petrochemical engineer prior to switching to acting full time. Interesting, bright guy apparently and a very good actor. So his Texas background and his Comanche heritage made him perfect for both those roles. Really brings them both "alive". Reminded me of how Bardem made his character in No Country For Old Men come alive. (Another great movie)

PS-anyone who thinks all the trashy crap on the screen is the death of great movies needs to see those 3.