Plot: What’s it about?
With this film, I think it is pretty safe to say that best the new screenwriter of the last few years is Taylor Sheridan. I loved his first two films that he wrote – Sicario and Hell or High Water– and this film rounds out the trilogy of rough and tumble American films under his belt. It is another excellent achievement. In this case, he not only wrote the film, but directed it as well. If I was any director in this country right now, I would be getting nervous that this man is directing his own material. The middle man has been entirely cut out and these lean mean pictures are some of the best American filmmaking in the last couple decades.
The film begins with a beautiful young Native American woman (Kelsey Asbille) running through a snow covered clearing barefoot at night. It is obvious that she is afraid of something and running for her life. She clutches her chest and falls to her knees with blood running down her nose, drawing her last breath. In the woods the next day a professional tracker for the Fish and Wildlife Service named Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) kills a troublesome wolf. Returning back into town he picks up his young son, Casey, from his estranged Native American wife. He receives a call from the Wind River reservation from his wife’s father. The man informs him that there is a mountain lion that is disturbing the local order of things, so Cory hops on his snowmobile and follows the tracks. Seeing a new set of tracks and some blood he stumbles upon the body of the young Native American woman. It turns out that she is the daughter of a close friend and her name was Natalie. With no jurisdiction of his own, he offers to help the young female FBI agent, Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen,) assigned to the case. She needs his help because she knows nothing about the area or how to investigate the disappearance due to flying in from Las Vegas. Cory has his own reasons for helping her find those responsible for her death. When given the opportunity he lets the father of the girl know that he will help the FBI agent so that he can avenge his daughter – and so he can avenge the death of his own daughter who had disappeared three years earlier.
This is a top contender for the best film I have seen this year. Jeremy Renner is heartbreakingly effective as the trained hunter that is trying to claw back from the death of his child. Elizabeth Olsen continues to prove that she has solid acting chops as the fish out of water FBI agent. Taylor Sheridan continues his brutal American trilogy with a film every part the equal of the prior two films. Wind River keeps the suspense level high and is very brutal at times. This is the type of hard-edged writing that could easily fit in with some of the best writing by Cormac McCarthy. At the heart of the film is a writer trying to shed light on a violence that occurs against the native women of this country but due to jurisdictional issues can not even be investigated.
Video: How’s it look?
Lionsgate’s previously-released Blu-ray looked pretty darn amazing, then again most day and date discs do. With this new edition, we’re treated to a new 4K 2.39:1 HEVC transfer that ups the ante just a bit more. The same caveats apply with razor sharp detail, accurate fleshtones and the like. The real draw here is the color. The movie has a very stark look to it, much like Fargo with vast, sweeping shots of nothing but pure white. That’s not always a good thing when it comes to an image on screen, but this really enhances the film in a way I find difficult to describe. There was nothing particularly wrong with the Blu-ray (also included), but if you’re looking for the best possible quality – look no further.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Another benefit of this disc is the addition of a Dolby Atmos track. It manages to use all of the surround channels effectively. Similar to Taylor Sheridan’s other films, much of the film is dialogue driven until the violence explodes across the screen. When it goes crazy, the surround channels become active and the film uses directionality very effectively. I can’t think of a single problem with this track. Great stuff.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Deleted Scenes – two very short scenes that don’t add much to the film.
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery – a short EPK style featurette.
The Bottom Line
We’ve become accustomed to seeing Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU, but they truly shine here. This is a low key movie (my wife would call is a “slow burn”) that slowly draws the viewer in. And it works. If, for some reason, you missed out on the original Blu-ray, snag this steelbook and get upgraded picture quality along with a Dolby Atmos track. You can’t go wrong.
