2017's Underrated Thriller that Deserves Love

Rating: 8/10 (22 February 2018)

Wind River is a cruelly underrated movie from 2017. Since 2017 has been one of those amazing years for cinema, this isn't surprising but it hurts when something like Three Billboards gets all the praise when this amazing crime drama get's nothing at all from the Academy Awards. It has phenomonal acting and a really good story, one which is not often told.
First off, this is the best performance I have seen from Jeremy Renner. He plays a devastated father who seeks to redeem his life and you wanna cheer for him since he's a figure who deserves redemption. Yes, one who DESERVES redemption! I am so sick of the failed father figure cliche and movies and I hate it when it's done lazily. Why does every father in movies have to be Adam Sandler? Can't we have a movie with a stable working relationship. Of course not! It's hard to write those movies and it's a lot easier to have the generic divorced family get's back together at the end plotline which I am just sick of! That being said, Jeremy Renner's character Cory is a failed father but it doesn't focus on him getting back with his wife it's about him coming to terms with his mistakes as a father. That's way more interesting than just him being a father who fails comedically and a father who lacks awareness. Then, in the story, Cory goes out of his way to track down a murderer who killed an innocent women and the case has some emotional impact on him since his daughter suffered a similar fate. This allows us to feel sympathetic towards Cory and want him to succeed. It's genius!
Then we have Elizabeth Olson and she plays a really good really compelling FBI agent. She's not some generic female lead who's just great at everything, she just knows how to do her job. Her character, Jane, joins Cory and asks for his help because he knows the land and how to hunt in the frozen wilderness while she knows how to be a good cop who can handle herself in a fight. If this was a Marvel movie she would be doing Karate and be completely unstoppable and that's not realistic. Showing her struggle in the Wyoming Wilderness is may more compelling and gives her a reason to ask for Cory's help. Every second they spend together demonstrates good chemistry and I can really appreciate how both characters sort of bond with each other.
But the number one thing this movie does is tell a story that deserves to be told. Let me explain. I've seen lots of crime dramas, but most of them happen in cities with generic cops vs criminals. How often do you see a crime drama in which it's not black people vs white people but native American locals vs White American outsiders/ Not many I bet. What's even better is that neither side is shown to be pure good or pure evil, both have their own problems which hurt their communities. I won't delve too deep into the plot but let me say that it really gives an accurate portrayal of the deep tensions that impact these two communities, tension which only fuels the suspense as the hunter and FBI agent team up to take down a criminal.
This movie is a wild ride that is suspenseful and compelling. The social commentary is in the background and you can make your own conclusions without having to be told what to think. If you want a good crime drama that actually "feels" suspenseful rather than looks suspenseful give this a watch. 8/10 pretty good flick.