The best film of 2017. Extraordinary, spellbinding.

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2017)

I was smitten from the first 5 mins. I didn't expect to be. All I knew of this film was that a man named Taylor Sheridan had written the screenplay, and he had done the same for Sicario. Sheridan also directed Wind River. Well, what a talent! Given that Sicario was foreboding, with a tension that didn't let up, and unforgettable, I thought Wind River might also satisfy. I was right. Wind River grips your heart from start to finish. The magnitude of the tension generated is bewildering it is so masterfully created that it emerges as if it is merely a by- product. The acting is astonishing, extremely well cast, with a script that is plain speaking, intensely intimate, efficient and integral - "you didn't see it, did you?". The snow and the cold is truly thrilling being set in the mountainous Wind River Native American settlement in Wyoming where the temperature can drop to -20 degrees C. This is a story about many things. Yes, it is a crime thriller and sensational for that reason alone. But this movie is much, much more than that. There is a great heart to this movie, a little reminiscent of Revenant, but Wind River is very contemporary, very real, very important.