Wind River is gritty, depressing and utterly thrilling.

Rating: 9/10 (27 February 2018)

Taylor Sheridan...I think I love you. Though this is not his directorial debut, it's the first film where he both directed and wrote the screenplay. A murder mystery set on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming where the incident might be more of a personal journey than first anticipated for our lead characters. And what a journey this is! It's dark, broody and full of tension around every corner. What Sheridan has done is intricately create not just a thrilling investigation but one that evokes pain and suffering. Through experiencing loss of life, a wildlife tracker who assists the FBI agent undertakes an opportunity to redeem himself. An absurdly visceral and poignant tale that is so emotionally raw that it filled my soul with melancholia. These characters are so hard hitting and complex that I found myself absorbed by these compelling individuals. The screenplay is infused with convincing dialogue that allows the characters to be natural, nothing ever felt forced. No line or word was out of place, not a single one. It was like poetry. Shakespeare even. I succumbed to the words as much as I did to the performances. Jeremy Renner, yet again, gives an understated performance and proves his is still an underrated actor. He was enigmatic. A multiple layered performance where I could see the internal suffering just from his eyes alone. Elizabeth Olsen holds her own in a more physically demanding role. The inclusion of Native American actors enhances the authenticity of the environment, and all performances felt real. Sheridan's directing style felt intuitional, admired how he filmed at a distance within the foliage to allow the landscape to fuel the tension. An extremely harsh environment, but captured beautifully. I only wished that the film was longer, the investigation itself was solved too quickly which did detract on the excitement factor. However, Wind River is a paradoxical thriller. A small convincing murder mystery but vast in scale. One of the best of the year.