Wind River (2017)

A veteran hunter helps an FBI agent investigate the murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation.

Director:

Taylor Sheridan

Writer:

Taylor Sheridan

Stars:

Kelsey Asbille, Jeremy Renner, Julia Jones

14 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kelsey Asbille	...	Natalie
Jeremy Renner	...	Cory Lambert
Julia Jones	...	Wilma
Teo Briones	...	Casey
Apesanahkwat	...	Dan Crowheart
Graham Greene	...	Ben
Elizabeth Olsen	...	Jane Banner
Tantoo Cardinal	...	Alice Crowheart
Eric Lange	...	Dr. Whitehurst
Gil Birmingham	...	Martin
Althea Sam	...	Annie
Tokala Black Elk	...	Sam Littlefeather (as Tokala Clifford)
Martin Sensmeier	...	Chip
Tyler Laracca	...	Frank
Shayne J. Cullen	...	BIA Officer #1 (as Shayne Joel Cullen)

Storyline

East of Boulder Flats, deep into the vast and unforgiving white territory of the Wind River Indian Reservation, the seasoned game tracker, Cory Lambert, discovers the frozen body of the young Native American, Natalie. As this is a federal crime, the F.B.I. dispatches the inexperienced but courageous agent Jane Banner to lead the investigation, however, the unprepared outsider will soon team up with Cory to unravel the mystery of Natalie's murder. Before long, Cory will inevitably have to face his own past, while at the same time, both he and Jane are thirsting to see justice done. In the end, will this be a fruitful alliance?

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | snow | native american reservation | snowmobile | gang rape | 

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Taglines:

Danger comes with the territory.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, a rape, disturbing images, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wind River

Filming Locations:

Park City Studios, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$161,558, 6 August 2017

Gross USA:

$33,800,859

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,980,821

Company Credits

Production Co:

Acacia Filmed Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings, The Fyzz Facility

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the course of the shoot, writer-director Taylor Sheridan was visited on set by some Shoshone tribal leaders who astonished him with the revelation that, at that very time, there were 12 unsolved murders of young women on a reservation of about 6,000 people. Due to a 1978 landmark government ruling (Oliphant v. Suquamish), the Supreme Court stripped tribes of the right to arrest and prosecute non-natives who commit crimes on native land. If neither victim nor perpetrator are native, a county or state officer must make the arrest. If the perpetrator is non-native and the victim an enrolled member, only a federally-certified agent has that right. If the opposite is true, a tribal officer can make the arrest, but the case must still go to federal court. This quagmire creates a jurisdictional nightmare by choking up the legal process on reservations to such a degree, many criminals go unpunished indefinitely for serious crimes.

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Goofs

It's not possible to freeze the lungs by running, even in extreme cold. Air gets heated by the nose and throat before it reaches the lungs, and the lungs themselves are continually heated by the circulating blood. You'd die from hypothermia long before the lungs could freeze.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Natalie: [narrating] There is a meadow in my perfect world. Where wind dances the branches of the tree, casting leopards spots of light across the face of pond. The tree stands tall, and grand, and alone, shading the world beneath it.
Natalie: [girl running frantically] It's here, in the cradle of all I hold dear.
[she falls]
Natalie: I guard every memory of you. And when I find myself frozen in the mud of the real... far from your loving eyes, I will return to this place, close mine, and take solace in the ...

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Greatest Animated Underdog Story (2020)

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Soundtracks

Diamonds & Gasoline
Written by Evan Felker
Published by Game Rooster Music
Performed by Turnpike Troubadours

User Reviews

Well Directed, Beautifully Shot, And Quality Acting!

When actors decide they want to make the transition to the other side of the camera and direct films, it can be a dicey proposition. It makes me even more nervous when said actor to director decides they don't have the acting out of their system and want to keep acting, but with "Wind River," Taylor Sheridan (best known for "Sons of Anarchy," but also the writer of both "Sicario" and "Hell or High Water" with this completing his American Frontier Trilogy) separates himself in order to focus on directing a wonderful based-on-a-true-story tale.

Jeremy Renner plays Cory Lambert, a tracker who works for the Fish and Game Commission in Wyoming who gets caught up in the investigation of the murder of a young Native American woman on a local reservation during a series of brutal snowstorms. He partners with FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) as they try to navigate the elements and even the law as it pertains to the reservation itself and a very thin law enforcement department headed up by Gen (Graham Greene).

I know there is not much to the above summary, but that is all you really need to know about this film, besides the fact that I REALLY enjoyed it as one can do with the material involved. Make no mistake: this is a dark film that deals with very haunting subject matter, so there is quite a bit of weight to it, but Sheridan treats this story with the highest level of respect by allowing his very well written script to drive it while still shooting it beautifully. To see such beautiful landscaping (actually shot in Utah) take my breath away while still understanding the danger of what the elements bring from the wildlife to the weather and even the inhabitants add a great layer to the story, but what takes it to the next level is the score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (not THAT Warren Ellis) that frames each and every scene perfectly without giving what is coming up ahead.

From a performance standpoint, I really dug the way that both Renner and Olsen dialed it WAY back within their characters with Renner keeping Lambert simple and focused on the task at hand and Olsen showing how Banner is just trying to do the right thing while attempting to understand the situation she in AND asserting the authority she has representing the Bureau. Greene gives great balance and levity to their dynamic while keeping his character involved as a reminder of the heightened sensitivity of their situation.

The Weinsteins' eye for film strikes again here, and I am also looking forward to where Sheridan's career behind the camera goes as well. For this being the second time he has helmed a film, this is incredibly impressive and should at least be on your "need to check out" list if not all the way to "must see".