Good Direction, But the Script Needs Some Work

Rating: 4/10 (31 August 2017)

Director Sheridan wrote Sicario and Hell or High Water, two of the most thoughtfully intense films of the last couple years, but this is (essentially) his directing debut. However, somehow he seems to have focused so much on the beauty of the visuals (which truly are stunning) that the script took a backseat. With a lack of character or distinction, and an unexpected plethora of clichéd storytelling and on-the-nose dialogue, Wind River is little more than a beautiful but ham-fisted allegory of how Native Americans have been poorly treated. Renner and Olsen take a break from their Avengers duties to join up with a local sheriff (scene-stealer Greene) to solve a crime in the frozen tundra of a Wyoming Indian reservation. The mystery itself, a young woman found brutalized and frozen in the woods, is an absorbing one, thanks to the skill in the filmmaking details. A uniquely foreboding score, intensely authentic action, gorgeously gruesome dead bodies atop scenic snow, and a lead hero who displays an aptitude for cool vengeance that should make Liam Neeson proud, all help boost the engagement. Unfortunately, once the mystery is resolved and explained, it's less, "Woah!", and more "Oh". The appeal of the mystery begins to dissipate when the conclusion is unsatisfying, leaving us with more unintended questions than answers: Why is the camera so shaky during simple dialogue scenes? What's with the hackneyed one-liners? Are these performances nicely subtle, or just dry as a bone? Is this the best we can do to portray the suffering of Indian-Americans? Wind River might have some helpful thoughts on wrestling grief, but it's mostly just unnecessarily brooding and too uncomplicated in its anger.