Murder on an Indian Reservation Where "You're On Your Own"

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2020)

On the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, a teenage girl, Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille Chow) runs without winter clothing and barefoot in the snow. A shot rings out, and she falls to the ground. But she gets up and tries to run. It is obvious that her time is over.
In the next scene, we are introduced to Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) as he shoots one of the wolves preying upon a small herd of sheep. Employed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, he is an expert tracker and hunter. Cory has a young son, and is divorced from his Indian wife, Wilma (Julia Jones). When we next see him, Cory is tracking a mountain lion that killed a steer. After that he comes upon the body of the dead girl, six miles from the nearest dwelling. Three years earlier Cory had lost his 16 year-old daughter, Emily, after a party. She too was found dead in the snow by a sheep herder. The circumstances of Emily's death are not known, but Natalie and Emily were best friends.
Cory summons the tribal police, including Ben Shoyo (Graham Greene). Since the FBI has jurisdiction over homicides on Indian reservations, the nearest agent to the area is summoned: young Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen). Although well-meaning, she is totally unprepared for the ordeal; she has neither appropriate winter clothing nor knowledge of American indian culture. She hires Cory to track down Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal), Natalie's boyfriend.
Past the half-way part, we see in flashback Natalie with Matt together. The two were obviously in love, and Matt had plans to marry the pretty Indian girl. While tracking to find the whereabouts of Matt, Cory learns that the only folks in the area are the drill site security guards, located in trailers a few miles away. Cory wants to go to the trailers where Matt lives. After separating from the tribal police group, Cory discovers Matt's body in the snow. Meanwhile there is tension between the tribal police and drill site security guards. And like a gunfight in the old West, bullets will settle affairs.
This modern western (or neo-western) was directed by Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan's film is the third of his trilogy: Sicario (2015), Hell or High water (2016), and Wind River (2017). According to Sheridan, "Wind River" was made to highlight the sexual assaults and disappearances of Native American women on Indian reservation lands. Although the Wind River Indian reservation lands are beautiful and scenic, the film conveys the harsh realities of those who reside there. The acting is admirable all-around. Cory adequately conveys his stoicism and his hidden pain, but remains a strong man one should not mess with. He works within his code of honor all the way. But the blueprint of the film is the bleak and relentless winter landscape that dominates the actions of all of the characters. See it.