DIRECTED BY : Taylor Sheridan

CAST : Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen

TRAILER : ENGLISH

Taylor Sheridan is signing here his second film as a director, but he is not on his first try as a screenwriter. He signed the scenarios of Sicario, Soldado and Hell or High Water. Wind River is his first movie where he is both screenwriter and director at the same time, and the result works so well.


● A thriller like no other

Wind River, is not a classic thriller, it's not a blockbuster, and has not made too many waves. No Tom Cruise or Matt Damon, but still a cast of choice with Jemery Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.
While the audience will expect a thriller with an "anti-hero" and an FBI agent, a crime to be elucidated, and villains to kill, the film brings us further reflection than that.

We're not expecting a hard-fight action movie because that's not it; and it is much deeper than that.
No cars pursuit, explosions everywhere, sick fighting scenes ... But a profound story, intense emotions, realism, and a strong message.
The film denounces a contemporary problem; the disappearances of indigenous women who remain unresolved and even unlisted.



● Snow and silence

The numerous wide shots, seen from above, the great spaces, the vacuum. All these shots show that the reserve is isolated, that there is only nature, snow and silence around them. A feeling of abandonment emerges from these few buildings in the middle of the void, far from the rest of the people and cities.
"Inspired by real facts". This immediately sets the tone, and we do not think or approach the film in the same way that we would do with a "normal" film. This brings immediately a realistic, moving dimension, more capable of touching the viewer.




● What is the history of Wind River

Cory Lambert is a tracker on the Wind River Indian Reserve, lost in the wilderness of Wyoming. When he discovers the body of a woman in the middle of the snow, in the middle of nowhere, the FBI sends a young recruit to elucidate this murder. Strongly linked to the Amerindian community, he will help him conduct the investigation in this hostile environment, ravaged by violence and isolation, where the law of men fades against the pitiless nature ...

The introductioin scene begins where the victim dies. We do not know who she is, nor why she dies, nor the conditions of her death. And this installs the plot of the film.
Then we come to the hero (Cory), and we see which character he is at first: solitary, hunter, tracker, gifted in what he does; He is apparently divorced with a child, and maintains a rather tense relationship with his ex wife.
Cory quickly makes the frightening discovery of the victim's body, which he knows. They call the FBI, which only sends them an agent, Jane Baner, a new beginner, who is itself destitute to the climatic conditions in which it arrives.
The conditions of the death of the victim are very mysterious because it seems that she ran barefoot in the snow in the middle of nowhere, more than 6km from any dwellings.

There is also a rapid glimpse of a mystery about Cory's past; when his son asks her if the girl is dead as Emilie. We understand then that there was a family drama, and we then wonder what happened to this girl, whom we guess is the daughter of Cory.



● Realism and subtlety

The distress of the victim's parents is so hard to look at. The mother who scarifies her arms, the father who is completely collapsed in the arms of his friend. Cory apparently lived the same and understands them. We feel very well the heavy past of the characters.
The dialogues are realistic, full of veracity, simplicity and authenticity. It's not like "I'm gonna hunt you, I'll find you and I'll kill you" as in TAKEN (although I loved this movie).
The development of the characters is getting more intense as the plot, the investigation go on. We discover the tragic past of Cory and his family, his emotional burden. We feel the distress of the people of the reserves, who only survive from day to day.

The plot is also authentic. This is not an episode of Experts Miami. We discover who was the victim, what was her connection with the other characters; What has happened, and especially what does this crime raises? Bigger problems and injustices than the director highlights.

The culprits are found, but there is still no certainty that Cory's daughter has lived a similar thing or who is guilty of her death. We do not have the answer; Cory either. And dozens and dozens of families living on reserves, whose daughters have also disappeared, either.

The film does not solve all the questions that arise, and that is what makes it a very authentic film.



● Jeremy Renner, a very fair performance

Jeremy Renner gives his best performance here, by far. He is really touching in this role; we can feel his character broken, lonely, sad, guilty and trying to do things well (as with his son, for whom he tries to be present despite his very addictive work). He seems simple, natural, and gives us cold sweats when talking about his daughter and the conditions of the discovery of her body.


Also note the character of the father of the victim (played by Gil Birminghjam), which has an extremely intense acting also. I literally drowned when he started crying in his friend's arms after learning of his daughter's murder.



● Strong and whistleblowing message

Full of sobriety, Taylor Sheridan signs here a scenario and a clear and fair achievement. No little love story between the hero and the heroine, no too-quick resolution to the story of Cory, no real "happy ending".

Wind River talks about the reality on the reserves, the reality of the people who live there, their distress, their loneliness, their abandonment, and the fact that they are not listened to, they can not make people to hear their voices.
The film makes the spectator feel the total injustice, the distress, the feeling of being deprived, the sadness.

Some will find that the film lacks action or climax. But all that serves effectively the purpose of the film. Because it is realistic, and reality does not happen as in Hollywood movies.
Some may find some delays in the script, but personally, I found it very fair. And we take the time to digest the information and emotions that take us by the throat.

The followers of classic action movies may be frustrated because all the puzzles or questions that one asks oneself (and that the characters also ask themselves) will not necessarily have answers (even if one suspects it strongly ). We are not in a "problem = a solution" scheme, as in all films.
Sheridan does not romance here, it is much more realistic and it fully serves the message he wants to put forward.
We still do not know what happened to Cory's daughter, but he did not ... And the dozens of real Amerindian families either. There is all the distress of these communities.