Snowy Suspense

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2017)

I thoroughly enjoyed this film for the most part. It takes place on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. The movie opens by introducing us to Cory's (Jeremy Renner) profession as a hunter/tracker and his somewhat fractured home life. It isn't too long until he discovers the body of a teenage girl out in the snow. The harsh, vast, snowy wilderness perfectly conveys the eerie and menacing undertones of the tragic death (homicide) of the young woman, who happened to be best friends with Cory's daughter, who also died under mysterious circumstances a few years prior. He is understandably driven to find the perpetrators and exact justice seeing as he never received answers about his daughter. Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), an FBI agent clearly unprepared for the cold and unfamiliar with the Native way of life, shows up to help investigate the case. Throughout the investigation, the movie portrays the many problems Native Americans face without being disrespectful to their culture or portraying them as one dimensional stereotypes. The movie delves into alcoholism and addiction, poverty, and violence on reservations - all topics that need far more attention than they receive.
The good: The acting is fantastic. None of it seems disingenuous or over the top, a trap many action movies fall into. The characters are believable and you really find yourself swept up in the story as it unfolds and rooting for justice for young Natalie (the homicide victim). The cinematography is flawless. Nature can be as dangerous as it is beautiful, and this film embraces that concept to add to the tone of the movie. You are edge of your seat for most of the film because it has good pacing and doesn't give things away too early or treat the audience like a child and explain every tiny aspect outright. It isn't riddled with flashbacks, which makes the one or two it does feature far more effective. The ending is supremely satisfying.
The bad: My main problem with this movie is the rape scene. It's not just this movie, it's an epidemic. There is no need to film a brutal rape scene for rape to be a part of the plot. I'm pretty sure everyone understands the concept of rape and it doesn't need to be shown on screen for the audience to understand how horrific it is. I really wish directors would move past this fixation because it doesn't really add anything to the impact the film has and is almost always shown just to emphasize how deranged/powerful/sadistic a character is (which can be shown in so many other ways). That being said, my only other issue with this movie is that they treat Jane as though she is clueless, but she is a very intelligent and dedicated agent. Yes, she is not well versed on tribal issues and she flew in from Vegas so she wasn't dressed for snow, but the constant undertone of "well that's not how we do it here" gets a little obnoxious.
Overall, this is a powerful film and tells a very important story. The visceral emotion and the strong storyline in this film really leaves a deep impact on the viewer.