A brutal film with a clever use of weather

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2017)

The trailer for this film was what got me personally interested in seeing the film, and this film did not disappoint.
Firstly big praise has to go to Taylor Sheridan who has done a fantastic job in not only directing the film put producing a really interesting screenplay with brilliant dialogue. Firstly the directing is brilliant in the film there is a great mix of "shaky cam" and fixed wide panning shots which work in contrast really well. The "shaky cam" camera work creates and heightens tension in the film perfectly, it really adds to the scenes where it is used. The flip side to this is the more conventional panning shots that are elegantly choreographed and styled nicely. The screenplay of the film is also extremely good, for the reason that it touches every area that it needs to in terms of emotion and character arc. There are multiple undertones to the film, the relationship between the place and the outside world or the relationship between the members of the community. There is a lot of back story to the characters in the film that we don't know in the beginning but are told as the film goes on and is handle brilliantly in the film without shoving a lot of information in our faces at once, just to get the audience up to speed. All of these and many more are woven in brilliantly into an overall interesting and heart breaking story, which is executed perfectly.
Next positive is the cinematography of the film which is simply stunning, however it does help to have a breath taking location to film at. Every single shot in the film is stunning and perfectly shot in such a harsh and dangerous place, the film looks beautiful from start to finish and certainly caught my eye early on in the "wow" factors of the film. Ben Richardson has definitely executed his job perfectly the cinematography is seamless throughout, fantastic.
Jeremy Renner is an actor that has been in the supporting role for a long time now, yes there have been a few attempts to make him the star however they weren't very successful. This is film that his true potential as a top class actor has come through, he is brilliant in this film and it is his best performance of his career to date. He is the emotional heart beat of the film and carries us throughout the journey of the investigation with Elizabeth Olsen's character. He is simply fantastic in the film and it definitely deserves recognition. The rest of the cast including Olsen are all really good, it is a small cast and that works to the films advantage to many faces could have started to overcrowd the film.
The score of the film is haunting it is excellent at creating tension and is woven/melded together with the wind/weather of the location. Sheridan has obviously wanted the score and the sound of the wind to become a character of its own, well if he didn't he has done it by mistake. The sounds of the film are a character of their own, they add something to every scene. From increases of tension to more sombre moments of the film the score and the wind/weather are used to brilliant effect. It doesn't take a lot to make a harsh environment like this become a being itself in the film, but however it could have been overplayed and overused. The weather and environment is used perfectly because it is left to its on devices it has not been interfered with, the film makers are suggesting to us that location is brutal enough and they are right.
Overall this film is very good, the directing and screenplay are at the top of their game. This is Jeremy Renner's best performance to date, the cinematography is something to look in ore at whilst the score and weather become characters themselves. 85% out of 100 this film is very good and executed perfectly, this is small indie film that needs everyone's attention and time!