Wind River Reviews

Summary U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert discovers a body in the rugged wilderness of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The FBI sends in rookie agent Jane Banner, but she’s unprepared for the difficulties created by the oppressive weather and isolation of the Wyoming winter. When she employs Cory as a tracker, the two venture deep into a...

• Crime

• Drama

• Mystery

• Thriller

• Western

Writer-director Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River is a stark and beautiful and haunting 21st century Western thriller, filled with memorable visuals and poetic dialogue — and scenes of sudden, shocking, brutal violence.

It’s one terrific, offbeat and heart-pounding thriller set in the frozen wilderness of a Wyoming Indian reservation that never ceases to surprise, enthrall and pump the adrenaline with an energy that stuns.

Amazing movie, great acting and it is truly a heartbreaking story. I want to point out Elizabet Olsens acting it was phenomenal top tier honestly how she portrayed anger, sorrow, being scared etc... truly an amazing actress.

All the cast is perfect, the "good" guys are good and the "bad" you hate, awesome acting from everyone, the character portraited by Gil Birmingham its amazing, its a thriller/drama that will stay with you.

Sheridan directs as well as writes for the first time, and delivers a superb thriller with a powerful chill that gets in your bones. Smart, tense and soulful.

Sheridan knows how to craft a tidy whodunit – and a late-act switch in perspective works better than it should – but he eventually leans toward sermonizing instead of storytelling, a well-intentioned move that edges the story just this close to melodrama.

Sheridan’s feel for psychology and setting are in fine evidence here. Wind River’s landscapes are forbidding and beautiful.

While there’s no reason to crack a lot of jokes to lighten the mood, it can start to feel like the movie relies too heavily on despair, to the point of capitalizing on its characters’ suffering — and, given the realism of Sheridan’s films, the suffering of people like them.

When Taylor Sheridan is left to his own devices, his work seems more abrupt and shallow, no more so than when he resolves all of this film's lingering questions in one unremittingly nasty sideswipe of a flashback.

Sad portrayal of true life of communities living away from us and perceived as alien.

This is a fairly dark film, although it is in a snowy setting, so visually at times its somewhat light I suppose but its fair to say there are some dark thematic elements and sexual violence is depicted, so its not a film that will suit everyone, its fair to say. The plot is a little slow to build but it is fairly atmospheric and at the end some information is given by way of text, which I thought was interesting. Its somewhat thought provoking, a bit bleak but not a bad film as such. I wouldn't, however, actively recommend it as such, no.

The acting is great and the story is somewhat good, but for me it has too many slow moments in it and at some parts it gets quite boring. Plus the grand finale is too simple. It does tell an interesting story and there are talented actors in it, but something is missing for me. I mean for me to give it a higher rating it has to have something more memorable in it, otherwise I think I will just forget about such movie's existance after few months

A pathetic exploitation film masquerading as a important drama about issues. Almost laughed out loud at the “Mexican standoff” – where a dozen people draw their guns without firing. So fake – a rich screenwriter’s gritty vision of reality. Filled with ponderous ambient music and portentous monologues about nothing, the movie goes nowhere quick, unable to generate any momentum for its murder mystery. By the time we find out what happens, dumb movie has the gall to slap us in the face with an unearned **** scene. Even the impressive locations shots can’t save this waste of time.

Wind River is a tragic misstep, in the acclaimed writing career of director, Taylor Sheridan. The film starts off well with the beautiful view, of a frozen terrain, on a Native American Reservation. Unfortunately for Sheridan, it's all downhill from there. His script and his two leads, are about as misguided as the competence level of FBI agent Jane Banner, played by Olsen, in what is arguably, one of the worst performances of her young career. Now let's move on to Renner, who plays Corey Lambert, a games tracker on the Wind River Reservation, the man who first discovers the dead body, of a young female, by the name of Natalie. When Renner isn't spewing, ridiculous, self-centered monologues, about pain and suffering, he's upping the masculine superiority within Sheridan's script, by outshining Jane Banner and even the local police officers, in their hunt to bring Natalie's family justice. Sheridan's directorial debut is a missable one and to put it simply, an overrated spectacle, with a screenplay that is awkwardly paced, filled with over the top violence, weak dialogue, and two leads, who have forgotten how to act, during their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of his usual top notch suspense, Sheridan settles for cheap thrills and obvious conclusions.

Red Nation Film Festival

• 5 Wins & 5 Nominations

American Indian Film Festival

• 2 Wins & 4 Nominations

Hawaii Film Critics Society

• 1 Win & 4 Nominations