Wind River

WIND RIVER(15)

D: Taylor Sheridan

TWC/Acacia/Film 44/Thunder Road/Savvy Media Holdings (Matthew George, Basil Iwanyk, Peter Berg & Wayne L. Rogers)

US 2017

111 mins

Thriller/Mystery

W: Taylor Sheridan

DP: Ben Richardson

Ed: Gary D. Roach

Mus: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Jeremy Renner (Cory Lambert), Elizabeth Olsen (Jane Banner), Gil Birmingham (Martin Hansen), Jon Bernthal (Matt Rayburn), Julia Jones (Wilma), Graham Greene (Ben), Kelsey Chow (Natalie Hansen)

Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, whose writing credits include the excellent Sicario and Hell Or High Water, makes his directorial debut with this impressive thriller set in the bleak, wintry state of Wyoming.

The story takes place on an Native American reservation, where Wildlife Service Agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers a corpse of a woman, who appears to have been raped and murdered. Rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) investigates the crime, but her hands are tied since it falls under the jurisdiction of tribal police, and without absolute proof that a murder took place, she is unable to take authority. She enlists Lambert's help, and he volunteers his services freely since it gives him a chance to redeem himself following the death of his daughter, who died under similar circumstances. 

The film does start rather slowly, but following the static opening it settles into a flowing pace, helped by excellent performances by the two leads, particularly Elizabeth Olsen, and some wonderful photography of the great outdoors by cinematographer Ben Richardson. 

Sheridan's films where he took writing credit didn't fail to impress, and neither does his solid directorial debut. 

This is quite easily one of my favourite films of 2017.

8/10