Grim, slow-burn crime thriller marks Sheridan's directorial debut

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2017)

Taylor Sheridan's achievement in this film lies in his success in crafting an old school crime drama that doesn't try to re-invent the wheel but instead relies on good old-fashioned storytelling. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are both exceptional as a dissimilar pair who out of sheer happenstance form an alliance to solve the mystery of a young woman's brutal death on an Indian reservation. Renner is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker. Olsen is an FBI agent sent on an assignment very much alone.
The narrative remains low-key but gradually builds toward its gripping conclusion. We come to learn quite a lot about Renner's character through his backstory. He's quite understated and effective in this role. Olsen enters the picture as an outsider to the bleak region of despair that the American wilderness is portrayed as here. She must learn quickly in order to do her job or leave a possible crime completely unsolved.
Because this film deals with life on an Indian reservation, much of the social and economic woes might seem unfamiliar at first, but the film does a good job of providing a snapshot of the hardship that pervades in this part of the country and the difficulty that law enforcement has in conducting even a workmanlike investigation. Sheridan depicts a world that is sympathetic and troubled at the same time, masking its tears with courage and doggedness. Recommended to everyone.