Movie Review: Wind River (2017)

Welcome to Movie Monday where I review something I've watched in a fashion similar to the Continuous Play Podcast: Film Strip podcasts I co-hosted and co-produced from April 2010-February 2018.

Theatrical Poster from Wikipedia

This week's feature is Wind River (2017).

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Kelsie Asbille, Gil Birmingham, and Jon Berenthal
Directed and Written by: Taylor Sheridan
Budget: $11 Million
Box Office: $47 Million

I missed this one in the theatrical run but caught it on Netflix earlier this year and decided to rewatch it this past week. Taylor Sheridan (known for screenplays of Hell or High Water and Sicario among other ventures) wisely lets the scenery of mountainous Wyoming provide a stark-white backdrop for a harrowing tale of a missing Native American girl, the FBI agent (Olsen) sent to investigate, and the veteran hunter and game controller (Renner) she recruits to aid in the search.


The undercurrent story is how many Native American women go missing with no record nor real police involvement. I'm not sure how real that is or not but knowing this sets the stage for what you see over the 107 minute runtime. Renner's character (Cory Lambert) is reeling from the loss of his teenage daughter which unraveled his marriage. His ex-wife still lives nearby with his pre-teen son, but may be leaving soon. Lambert is at home on the trail and in the mountains and though he's not of the heritage, his relationships with the Native Americans in the area make him a valuable asset. Olsen's FBI Agent Jane Brunner is clearly out of her element but shows her own strength and wits when pitted against various dangerous situations.

This is Wind River, Wyoming. Photo from: pxhere.com/

The performances are what carry this beyond your standard boiler-plate mystery. Renner is at his best when he's just there, being earnest. If all you know him from are Marvel or Mission: Impossible movies (or that dreadful Bourne thing he did), this is not that Renner. This is more akin to The Hurt Locker performance. It's the confident yet damaged persona he brings that balances the heavy subject matter with the personal tragedies at the center of this story.


Olsen continues to prove herself as a talented performer. While she is the audience here - the person from the outside sent here to make sense of it all - she balanced the need to be that transparent avatar while establishing her character as someone able to hold her own in a tough environment against some long odds.

There's a great flashback before the finale which answers all the questions of the mystery and, honestly, it doesn't even matter because the story is about the way these people deal with loss and isolation in the last of the American frontier.

I don't want to spoil the plot anymore than I already have here. So, I won't go into any more details other than to say this one is very much worth your time.

If I were to give this a Popcorn Rating (larger size, better the movie) from the Film Strip days, I'd say Large Popcorn for sure. Add this to your Netflix queue and watch it without your phone or laptop nearby. Let it roll over you and I recommend watching it with someone so you can talk about it once finished.