Movie: Wind River

Wind River:  a mystery set on the Wind River Indian reservation in Wyoming.  The movie opens with a woman running barefoot through a bleak, snowy field at night.  We then meet Corey Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a U. S. Fish and Wildlife agent who also works as a hunter/tracker.  In his introductory scene, Lambert is lying on his belly camouflaged in the snow.  He is killing wolves that have been preying on sheep.  A bit later we see Lambert searching for a mountain lion that has killed a neighbor’s cattle.  This is when he discovers the body of an 18 year old Indian woman named Natalie (Kelsey Asbille Chow).  Lambert immediately recognizes Natalie as she was his teenage daughter’s best friend.  Natalie is the woman we saw running through the snow at the film’s opening.  We learn that three years earlier, Lambert’s daughter had been found dead under similar circumstances.  The balance of this excellent 111 minute story involves our learning what happened to Natalie while simultaneously glimpsing into life on an Indian reservation.  Because Natalie appears to have been murdered, the FBI is summoned to investigate.  It is the federal government which has jurisdiction over capital crimes on Indian reservations.  A rookie agent, Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olson), is sent to Wind River from Las Vegas.  She has not been advised as to the weather and must borrow the snow gear of Lambert’s late daughter.  Lambert and Banner develop a close relationship, which is presented without slopping over into a Hollywood romance.  As the story unfolds, cinematographer Ben Richardson offers beautiful shots of the Wyoming winter.  The cast of Wind River is small but includes some very strong, honest performances.  Gil Birmingham plays Natalie’s grieving father, Martin.  His screen time is relatively short but Oscar worthy.  Graham Greene as the Tribal Police Chief also offers a fine performance.  Renner is excellent, both as a grieving father and a professional hunter.  The bad guys are one dimensional but the storyline from writer/director Taylor Sheridan remains powerful.  Due to the cinematography, this superb movie is one that should be seen on the big screen.