A Harrowing Experience

Rating: Null/10 (23 November 2017)

In one of the deleted scenes from "Wind River" that appear on the DVD version of the film, the FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) is at the check-in desk of a motel in the remote Wind River Indian Reservation in western Wyoming. The motel proprietor is not friendly and sympathetic when asked by the agent if there is a discount for government employees. "The government has never given me a discount," the owner wryly responds.
It is unfortunate that the deleted scene was not included in the final film cut. The motel owner also informs SA Banner that young women of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes have gone missing at alarming rates. It is not until the final screen credits that the audience learns more of this important backdrop.
"Wild River" focuses on the disappearance and subsequent murder of a young Native American woman named Natalie, who is brutally assaulted and dies fleeing for her life while running in the snow. The protagonist named Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), is a local official of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who hunts predators to protect the local herds of sheep and cattle. He now joins forces with FBI SA Banner in solving the crime.
Cory's character is vital to film's dramatic action because his own daughter was abducted and murdered at a time when he had left her unchaperoned at home for a party. Things got out of hand, the daughter was killed, and the crime was never solved.
A profound sense of melancholy hangs over the local residents of Wind River. This is most apparent with the arrival of the outsider, the FBA agent, who seems so out of place in this world. But SA Banner learns about the tragedy primarily from Cory, and she becomes more in tune with the tragic environment as the film develops. Another memorable character is Martin, the father of Natalie, who has also bonded with Cory in the shared experience of grief at the loss of a child.
"Wild River" is a haunting film with a stunning climax in the major action sequence involving a volley of gunfire. In most action films, a shootout seems choreographed much like a video game. In this case, the scene unfolds spontaneously and with an ugly real-life quality that is unforgettable. This is not a pleasant film experience, but it is a thoughtful one that sensitizes us to important human realities. And, if one is checking in to the local motel at Wind River, it is especially important to be polite to the person working the front desk.