You know nothing, snow (about snow, that is)

Rating: Null/10 (19 October 2017)

"Snow and silence". This bit of revealing dialogue comes close to the end. Someone in the audience who has experienced, say, 40 below (which happens to be the converging figure for F and C measurements) may have a little more empathy with this movie.
The movie is based on a true story, as pointed out at the beginning. Yet, unlike others, the true story here is not one of those stranger-than-fiction variations, but a crime that happens often. The most outrageous thing is that, as intimated at the ending credit, there is not even statistics available for it.
"Wind River" is a native Indian reserve in Montana, at such an altitude that it's almost perpetually covered in snow. Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a "hunter" (an alternative name for a forest ranger, I suppose), stumbles across the dead body of an 18-year-old native girl in the snow. As Reserves are under FBI jurisdiction, an agent is called to the scene. Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) turns out to be a young woman who is somewhat green, at least from her young looks. However, she shows good sense right away in recruiting Cory's help.
While not unexpectedly, the victim's father Martin (Gil Birmingham) is initially somewhat hostile towards Jane, he breaks down when Cory shows up. Hinted earlier, it is now evident that Cory's daughter, a good friend of the victim and a child of inter-racial marriage, died under similar circumstances three years ago. Cory shares his own experience in grieving with Martin: you have to accept the pain, in order to keep her in your mind (something to that effect).
The next step of the investigation hits a small road-block. While the coroner is "on their side" as explained by the world-weary but friendly local sheriff Ben (Graham Greene) to Jane, he cannot sign off the case as murder. There is clear evidence of beating and rape but the cause of death is the effect of running six miles in sub-zero air on the victim's lungs. I'll stop here. This is not a whodunnit mystery. The revelation, when it comes about two-third through the movie, is a small pleasant surprise, in the way how it is handled: a flashback showing what happened, via a neat little montage of a knock on a door. The delight is in the technique. The revelation itself is revolting.
Renner gives a contained, solid performance of a man who has grown up in a hostile environment and suffered a devastating personal lost. At the beginning of the movie, he picks their young son up from his divorced wife (an amiable separation, it would appear) to spend a few days with him. Teaching his son to ride a horse, he instructs: be gentle to him, until he tells you not to. This small lesson says a lot about what Cory has to contend with all his life. With emotions always well contained, Cory's grim determination is formidable, and he is prepared not to play by the rules. Even law officers, both Jane and Ben, eventually come to see his point. While a tad melodramatic, there is an undeniable satisfaction seeing poetic justice carried out to the fullest at the end, despite the law. Renner's measured performance renders fully alive this taciturn character that on the surface does not appear to have a lot of life.
Olsen who first caught the movie-going mass's attention as an Avengers superhero has a chance in this movie to show what she is capable of. Making good use of it, she walks a thin line between an inexperienced greenhorn and a professional that earns people's respect. While she starts out not exactly with commanding authority (her imposing FBI status notwithstanding) she approaches the case and the people involved with level-headed proficiency. She defers to Cory's uncontested experience in this hostile surrounding with business sense, but not unnecessary modesty. It is towards the end, during a tension-filled, gun-drawn face-off between two power groups that Jane shows her true worth, deftly using authority combined with persuasion to force a stand down. Olsen beautifully portrays this young woman with genuine compassion for fellow human beings as well as impeccable competence. Jane happens to be an FBI agent but we have no hesitation in believing that she will shine in any other profession.
A memorable support character is Ben, as portrayed by Graham Greene, a man who has all his life been learning to live with frustration. When asked by Jane to wait for backups, he quips "we are not in the land of backups; we are in the land of you are on your own". Yet, world-wearied, Ben is not without feelings. He recognises very quickly that despite her youthful appearance, Jane knows exactly what she is doing, and treats her accordingly, with friendly respect.
This movie is not without brief moments of humour. Jane ride behind Cory on his snow mobile to get around in the investigation. The following exchange occurs after they have come to know each other a little better:
"Tomorrow, do we really need to go at 80 kilos per hour?"
"No, not if you don't mind falling into ditches that we may otherwise avoid".
"You win".
(something like that)