A very good movie, but strained to hear the dialog.

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2019)

Here we have another fine movie that has been completely spoiled by over-zealous sound editing. Background noise being brought to the foreground seems to be a trend in the last few years, but nearly all of the 2018 movies that my wife and I have seen suffer this malady.
Wind River takes place in snowy mountain wilderness where the silence is broken only by things like the far away cry of an eagle, but in this movie we are constantly bombarded with what sounds like busy traffic on a gravel road. And for the record, you never hear thunder in a snowstorm! Added to that is a constant attempt at eerie music consisting of high and low tones generated by a synthesizer, with the occasional banging on a piano. Trying to hear an actor speaking behind all this is all but impossible, especially since so many of today's actors are required to speak in whispering tones with voices that don't carry well. Wind River's bedroom scene was the first and only one where the background noise ceased, and what a relief it was. The rest of the time, we were straining to hear everyone except the female FBI agent. Other than the soundtrack, the story was suspenseful and beautifully filmed.