'Wind River' A Review

Wind River is a mystery/thriller set on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Fish and Wildlife agent Cory(Jeremy Renner) is called in to hunt a cougar but discovers the body of Natalie, an 18-year-old resident, frozen solid. FBI agent Jane(Elizabeth Olsen) is called in to investigate and the two begin to gradually unravel the circumstances of Natalie's barefoot flight into the wilderness.

Renner is solid and stoic as the defacto lead. Playing, essentially, the competent man. He serves as a good audience ambassador to the Native community in which most of the story takes place, he does this with surprising grace and little presumption. Olsen is grounded and compelling with little back story to work with. Both function remarkably well given they focus on solving the central crime and little time is spent on developing their characters. Their performances have nuance but it is mostly inferred, on the edges, they are first and foremost detectives. The more emotional and deep performances are given by the supporting cast Julia Jones as Cory's ex-wife, Gil Birmingham as the father of the Natalie, and in a brief but inspired flashback Kelsey Chow as Natalie and Jon Bernthal as Matt her semi-secret boyfriend.

Breathtaking cinematography pairs perfectly with an eerie score to evoke the danger, isolation, and beauty of the Wyoming wilderness. The story shows the cultural, economic, and societal complexity of the Wind River Reservation in a way that few films that involve Native Americans rarely do. Perhaps not perfect it clearly strives to be balanced, honest, and human.

An intriguing mystery, a thrilling setting, a surprisingly gripping and involved emotional arc.

See It.