| Revision as of 09:10, 31 May 2018 editDoczilla (talk | contribs)Administrators49,060 editsm →PlotTag: Visual edit← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:18, 3 June 2018 edit undo2600:1700:18b0:a4a0:817:5e40:b20a:7178 (talk) →PlotTag: large plot additionNext edit → | ||
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| == Plot == | == Plot == | ||
| During a winter season in ] in ], expert tracker and ] agent Cory Lambert discovers the frozen body of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson |
During a winter season in ] in ], expert tracker and ] agent Cory Lambert discovers the frozen body of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson. He finds her barefoot, without proper winter attire, miles from any building and with a blood-stained groin. FBI special agent Jane Banner arrives to investigate a possible ]. The next day, Jane learns from Natalie's father, Martin, that his daughter had been dating a new boyfriend, but he does not know the man's name or whereabouts. | ||
| The autopsy shows blunt trauma and sexual violence, but confirms Cory's deduction that the girl died from exposure, specifically ] caused by rapid inhalation of sub-zero air. Because the cold temperature is directly responsible for her death, and not her attackers, the medical examiner determines he can't classify the death as a homicide. Jane reveals the FBI will defer any official non-homicide to the ], and recall her to her post in Las Vegas. As only six BIA officers protect a reservation covering thousands of square miles, this means the case will likely go unsolved. | |||
| Cory discovers that Natalie's boyfriend is Matt Rayburn who works security at a nearby oil drilling site. The next day, Matt's body is discovered, nude and heavily ravaged by scavenging wildlife. Cory tells Jane about his daughter's death three years earlier, whose body was discovered in the snow, following a party while he and his wife were away. | |||
| Local BIA Police Chief Ben Shoyo reveals Martin's estranged son, Chip, is living with a gang of Indian drug addicts who likely have some information in the case. Ben, Cory and Jane go to the addicts' residence and question an Indian man who answers the door, clearly high on drugs and known to Ben for past criminality. The situation escalates and the man ambushes Ben and Jane with a can of mace, incapacitating Ben. Jane recovers enough to storm the house and kill the man. Cory intercepts Chip and another addict as they attempt to flee the house. Rather than serve as a witness in her death, Chip is devastated to learn of it from the investigators. However, he later tells Cory where to find Natalie's boyfriend, Matt. Soon after, Matt's body is found in the wilderness. | |||
| Jane, accompanied by Tribal Police Chief Ben Shoyo and additional officers, visit the drill site where they meet with several of the security guards. They report that Matt stormed off a few days ago following an argument with Natalie and has not been seen since. One guard mentions that they heard about Natalie's body being found by monitoring law enforcement radio channels. Jane points out that Natalie's name was not given out. One of the police officers notices that the security guards are slowly surrounding Jane and her team. The confrontation quickly escalates into an armed standoff as they argue over who has jurisdiction. Jane defuses the situation by asserting federal authority. She asks to see where Matt was bunking, and they resume their approach to the trailer. | |||
| Ben, Jane and local sheriff's deputies go to the oil rig where Matt worked security, and it becomes obvious the other security agents there have something to hide. Cory continues his hunt for the mountain lion preying on area ranchers' livestock, during which he'd originally found Natalie's body. He finds the mountain lion and her cubs, but also clear signs the security agents used their ] to carry human remains to the lions' den for disposal. At the same time, the behavior of the security agents cause the deputies to suspect an ambush, and a standoff ensues. Jane manages to convince everyone to stand down and they proceed to the trailer where the security agent who reportedly last interacted with Matt is sleeping. | |||
| A ] then depicts Natalie in bed with Matt in his trailer. Unexpectedly, his security colleagues barge into the trailer after a night of hard drinking. Pete, a particularly vulgar crew member, taunts them and tries to sexually assault Natalie, which provokes Matt to violence. The guards retaliate by beating Matt down while Pete rapes Natalie. Matt's attempt to fight back gives Natalie an opportunity to escape, but the group bludgeon him to death. | |||
| A ] sequence reveals Natalie visited Matt at the oil rig a few days before to have sex. As she and Matt cuddle in bed, the other agents return to the rig, though Matt had believed they would spend the night drinking at a nearby town. Indeed, the agents are all violently drunk, and intrude into Matt's bedroom. Matt eventually hits the most aggressive agent and kicks him out of the room, only to be ambushed by the whole team moments later — implying the agents have, in their isolation and boredom, become a murderous gang. The team knock Matt and Natalie out, before taking turns raping her. Matt recovers and attacks the team, allowing Natalie to escape while the fiends beat Matt to death. After running barefoot for six miles, she succumbs to the cold. | |||
| Back in the present, Cory has retraced the tracks from where Matt's corpse was found back to the drilling camp. Meanwhile, Jane and the police approach the drill crew's sleeping quarters. Cory, standing at a distance on a hill above the camp and looking down at the group, radios a warning to Ben but not before Jane, wearing a bullet-proof vest, is hit in the chest by a shotgun blast fired through the door by Pete, wounding her. A firefight ensues, in which Ben and the other officers are killed. As the surviving security guards prepare to execute Jane, Cory picks them off with his rifle, except for Pete, who, though wounded, flees on foot. Cory catches Pete and takes him up a mountain top. After forcing Pete's confession, Cory offers him the same chance Natalie had: a barefooted escape toward a distant road wearing light-weight clothing. Pete runs through the snow but quickly succumbs as his lungs give out from the same pulmonary hemorrhage that killed Natalie. | |||
| The film returns to the present, revealing the deputies' fears to be justified. The leader of the gang lures Jane to be shot through the door of the trailer where the agents killed Matt, while his fellows kill Ben and the deputies in an intense exchange of fire that also kills some security agents. Jane is saved by her bulletproof vest. One of the surviving agents readies to finish her off, before he and most of his fellows are gunned down from afar by Cory, who realized the truth on finding the lions. A final security agent, Pete, flees and is tracked down by Cory, who lost his own daughter years before to violence. Cory knocks the man out and takes him to a remote area, pressuring him to confess to rape and murder. He then cuts the man loose without shoes or winter gear, knowing he will suffer the same fate as Natalie. | |||
| ⚫ | Cory visits Jane in the hospital and praises her toughness. He later visits Martin, finding him sitting outside his house wearing his "death face" paint. Cory tells Martin that the case is closed and that the man responsible for Natalie's death went out |
||
| ⚫ | Cory visits Jane in the hospital and praises her toughness. He later visits Martin, finding him sitting outside his house wearing his "death face" paint. Cory tells Martin that the case is closed and that the man responsible for Natalie's death went out "with a whimper." They share grief over their daughters' deaths. | ||
| A title card states that missing-persons statistics are kept for every demographic group except for Native American women, whose numbers remain unknown. | A title card states that missing-persons statistics are kept for every demographic group except for Native American women, whose numbers remain unknown. | ||
Revision as of 13:18, 3 June 2018
2017 film
| Wind River | |
|---|---|
.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Taylor Sheridan |
| Written by | Taylor Sheridan |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Richardson |
| Edited by | Gary D. Roach |
| Music by | |
| Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
|
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $46 million |
Wind River is a 2017 neo-Western murder mystery film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker and an FBI agent, respectively, who try to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal and Graham Greene also star. According to Sheridan, the opening "inspired by true events" card was a reference to the "thousands of actual stories just like it" involving sexual assault of women on reservations, his primary motivation for writing the film.
Wind River premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 4, 2017. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $46 million against an $11 million budget. While theatrically released by The Weinstein Company, in October 2017, following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, the film's distribution rights for home media were acquired by Lionsgate, with Weinstein's credits and logo being omitted on home media and streaming services, which caused TWC to lose distribution rights.
Plot
During a winter season in Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, expert tracker and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Cory Lambert discovers the frozen body of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson. He finds her barefoot, without proper winter attire, miles from any building and with a blood-stained groin. FBI special agent Jane Banner arrives to investigate a possible homicide. The next day, Jane learns from Natalie's father, Martin, that his daughter had been dating a new boyfriend, but he does not know the man's name or whereabouts.
The autopsy shows blunt trauma and sexual violence, but confirms Cory's deduction that the girl died from exposure, specifically pulmonary hemorrhage caused by rapid inhalation of sub-zero air. Because the cold temperature is directly responsible for her death, and not her attackers, the medical examiner determines he can't classify the death as a homicide. Jane reveals the FBI will defer any official non-homicide to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police, and recall her to her post in Las Vegas. As only six BIA officers protect a reservation covering thousands of square miles, this means the case will likely go unsolved.
Local BIA Police Chief Ben Shoyo reveals Martin's estranged son, Chip, is living with a gang of Indian drug addicts who likely have some information in the case. Ben, Cory and Jane go to the addicts' residence and question an Indian man who answers the door, clearly high on drugs and known to Ben for past criminality. The situation escalates and the man ambushes Ben and Jane with a can of mace, incapacitating Ben. Jane recovers enough to storm the house and kill the man. Cory intercepts Chip and another addict as they attempt to flee the house. Rather than serve as a witness in her death, Chip is devastated to learn of it from the investigators. However, he later tells Cory where to find Natalie's boyfriend, Matt. Soon after, Matt's body is found in the wilderness.
Ben, Jane and local sheriff's deputies go to the oil rig where Matt worked security, and it becomes obvious the other security agents there have something to hide. Cory continues his hunt for the mountain lion preying on area ranchers' livestock, during which he'd originally found Natalie's body. He finds the mountain lion and her cubs, but also clear signs the security agents used their powered sleds to carry human remains to the lions' den for disposal. At the same time, the behavior of the security agents cause the deputies to suspect an ambush, and a standoff ensues. Jane manages to convince everyone to stand down and they proceed to the trailer where the security agent who reportedly last interacted with Matt is sleeping.
A flashback sequence reveals Natalie visited Matt at the oil rig a few days before to have sex. As she and Matt cuddle in bed, the other agents return to the rig, though Matt had believed they would spend the night drinking at a nearby town. Indeed, the agents are all violently drunk, and intrude into Matt's bedroom. Matt eventually hits the most aggressive agent and kicks him out of the room, only to be ambushed by the whole team moments later — implying the agents have, in their isolation and boredom, become a murderous gang. The team knock Matt and Natalie out, before taking turns raping her. Matt recovers and attacks the team, allowing Natalie to escape while the fiends beat Matt to death. After running barefoot for six miles, she succumbs to the cold.
The film returns to the present, revealing the deputies' fears to be justified. The leader of the gang lures Jane to be shot through the door of the trailer where the agents killed Matt, while his fellows kill Ben and the deputies in an intense exchange of fire that also kills some security agents. Jane is saved by her bulletproof vest. One of the surviving agents readies to finish her off, before he and most of his fellows are gunned down from afar by Cory, who realized the truth on finding the lions. A final security agent, Pete, flees and is tracked down by Cory, who lost his own daughter years before to violence. Cory knocks the man out and takes him to a remote area, pressuring him to confess to rape and murder. He then cuts the man loose without shoes or winter gear, knowing he will suffer the same fate as Natalie.
Cory visits Jane in the hospital and praises her toughness. He later visits Martin, finding him sitting outside his house wearing his "death face" paint. Cory tells Martin that the case is closed and that the man responsible for Natalie's death went out "with a whimper." They share grief over their daughters' deaths.
A title card states that missing-persons statistics are kept for every demographic group except for Native American women, whose numbers remain unknown.
Cast
- Jeremy Renner as Cory Lambert, U.S. Fish and Wildlife service agent. He discovers the frozen body of Natalie Hanson. FBI special agent Jane Banner recruits him to help her solve the case. He uses the case as redemption for his daughter Emily, who died in the wilderness, similar to Natalie's death.
- Elizabeth Olsen as Jane Banner, FBI special agent. She recruits Cory as her tracker to help her solve the case.
- Graham Greene as Ben Shoyo, Tribal Police chief. He assists Jane and Cory to solve the possible murder of Natalie Hanson.
- Kelsey Asbille as Natalie Hanson, Martin and Annie's daughter and Chip's sister. She was best friends with Cory's late daughter, Emily.
- Gil Birmingham as Martin Hanson, Annie's husband and Chip and Natalie's father. He is also Cory's close friend.
- Julia Jones as Wilma Lambert, Cory's ex-wife and Casey's mother.
- Martin Sensmeier as Chip Hanson, Martin and Annie's son and Natalie's brother. He is also a drug addict.
- Althea Sam as Annie Hanson, Martin's wife and Chip and Natalie's mother.
- Teo Briones as Casey Lambert, Cory and Wilma's son.
- Apesanahkwat as Dan Crowheart, Wilma's father.
- Tantoo Cardinal as Alice Crowheart, Wilma's mother.
- Jon Bernthal as Matt Rayburn, Natalie's boyfriend.
- James Jordan as Pete Mickens, Matt's co-worker.
- Hugh Dillon as Curtis, Matt's superior.
- Matthew Del Negro as Dillon, Matt's co-worker.
- Austin Grant as Carl.
- Ian Bohen as Evan, police deputy.
- Eric Lange as Dr. Whitehurst, medical examiner.
- Tyler Laracca as Frank Walker, Chip's friend and a drug dealer.
- Gerald Tokala Clifford as Sam Littlefeather, Chip's friend and a drug dealer.
Release
The Weinstein Company acquired the distribution rights on May 13, 2016, during the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. In January 2017, it was announced that the company would no longer distribute the film, but the distribution deal was later finalized. It had a limited release on August 4, 2017, before going wide on August 18.
In October 2017, it was announced the film would be distributed on home media and streaming services through Lionsgate with the Weinstein Company name and logo omitted from the credits, trailer and packaging, because of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal. As a result, The Weinstein Company finally stopped distributing the film. All money Weinstein would have made was donated to charity.
Reception
Box office
Wind River grossed $33.9 million in the United States and Canada and $13.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $46 million, against a production budget of $11 million.
In the film's limited opening weekend, it made $161,558 from four theaters (a per-location average of $40,390, one of the best of 2017), finishing 29th at the box office. In its second week the film expanded to 45 theaters and grossed $622,567. The film expanded to 694 theaters on August 18 and grossed $3 million, finishing 10th at the box office. The following week the film was added to an additional 1,401 theaters (for a total of 2,095) and made $4.6 million (an increase of 54.6%), managing to finish 4th at the box office. The film was added to yet another 507 theaters and made $5.7 million the following weekend, and an estimated $7.2 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend, finishing in the 2nd spot at the U.S. box office consistently for the next 13 days. It was the 6th-highest grossing indie film of 2017.
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 213 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wind River lures viewers into a character-driven mystery with smart writing, a strong cast, and a skillfully rendered setting that delivers the bitter chill promised by its title." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally very favorable reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film a 90% overall positive score and a 70% "definite recommend".
Owen Gleiberman of Variety described Wind River as a "humanistic crime drama, though this one has more skill than excitement". Chris Plante of The Verge described it as "a thrilling, violent finale to the Hell or High Water and Sicario trilogy" and "Coen brothers noir meets the case of the week."
Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers praised Sheridan's direction and the cast, giving the film 3/4 stars. He wrote: " the set-up for what could have been a conventional whodunit – thankfully, Sheridan is allergic to all things conventional. To him, the action is character, and he's lucked out by finding actors who not only understand his approach but thrive on it." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a B, writing: " Wind River shares Sheridan’s self-evident weaknesses, it also makes the most of his signature strengths. Wind River may not blow you away, but this bitter, visceral, and almost paradoxically intense thriller knows what it takes to survive."
In a High Country News article titled "Why do white writers keep making films about Indian Country?", native commentator Jason Asenap praises the film as "a thinking-person's thriller" full of complex characters, and describes the film's focus on missing Native American women as "admirable."
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | May 28, 2017 | Prix Un Certain Regard | Taylor Sheridan | Nominated | |
| Un Certain Regard for Best Director | Taylor Sheridan | Won | |||
| Caméra d'Or | Taylor Sheridan | Nominated | |||
| National Board of Review | November 28, 2017 | Top Ten Independent Film | Wind River | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | February 11, 2018 | Best Actor | Jeremy Renner | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | June 2018 | Best Thriller Film | Wind River | Pending |
References
- "Wind River (2016) - BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
- "Wind River (2016) - BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- "Wind River". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Wind River (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
- Hornaday, Ann (August 10, 2017). "In 'Wind River,' Jeremy Renner plays a game tracker solving a murder". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- "Movie Interviews: Investigating A Murder In 'Wind River'". NPR. August 5, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- "Cannes: Weinstein Co. Nabs Jeremy Renner Drama 'Wind River'". The Hollywood Reporter. May 14, 2016.
- Siegel, Tatiana (January 9, 2017). "Sundance: Weinstein Company to No Longer Distribute Jeremy Renner's 'Wind River' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- Thompson, Anne (January 27, 2017). "2017's Sundance Sales Are In Overdrive: Here's Why, Plus See Our Full Deal Scorecard". IndieWire. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- Hipes, Patrick (March 17, 2017). "'Mary Magdalene', 'Current War' & 'Wind River' Get 2017 Release Dates From Weinstein". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- Fleming Jr., Mike (October 25, 2017). "Weinstein Name Stripped From 'Wind River'; Tunica-Biloxi Tribe Financiers To Pay For Oscar Campaign". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- Crucchiola, Jordan. "Taylor Sheridan Got Weinstein Company Scrubbed From Wind River With an Ultimatum". Vulture. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Why 'Transformers' Is Screaming For Reboot After $69M Start; 'Wonder Woman' & 'Cars 3' Fight Over 2nd Place". Deadline Hollywood. June 25, 2017.
- ^ Brooks, Brian (August 6, 2017). "Taylor Sheridan's 'Wind River' Opens Robust; 'Step' OK – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- D'Allesandro, Anthony (August 13, 2017). "New Line's Dollhouse Of Dough: 'Annabelle: Creation' Opening To $35M". Deadline Hollywood.
- D'Allesandro, Anthony. "'Hitman's Bodyguard' Flexes Muscle With $21M+ Opening During Sleepy Summer Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- D'Allesandro, Anthony (August 27, 2017). "Don't Blame Hurricane Harvey & Showtime Fight For Weekend's Lousy Box Office: Distribs Served Up Lackluster Titles". Deadline Hollywood.
- D'Allesandro, Anthony (September 3, 2017). "Labor Day Weekend The Worst Since 1998 As 'Hitman's Bodyguard' Holds No. 1 For 3rd Weekend With $12.9M". Deadline Hollywood.
- Erbland, Kate. "The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2017 (A Running List)". IndieWire. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- "Wind River (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
- "Wind River Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
- Gleiberman, Owen (January 22, 2017). "Sundance Film Review: 'Wind River'". Variety.
- "Wind River is a thrilling, violent finale to the Hell or High Water and Sicario trilogy". The Verge. January 23, 2017.
- Travers, Peter (August 2, 2017). "'Wind River' Review: Taut Thriller on Native Reservation Will Knock You for a Loop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
- "'Wind River' Review: Jeremy Renner Is An Ice-Cold Cowboy In Taylor Sheridan's Solid Noir — Sundance 2017". IndieWire. January 23, 2017.
- Asenap, Jason (September 15, 2017). "Why do white writers keep making films about Indian Country?". High Country News.
- Lodge, Guy (May 27, 2017). "'A Man of Integrity,' 'Wind River,' 'Barbara' Take Un Certain Regard Awards at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- "2017 Award Winners". National Board of Review. May 27, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- "'Dunkirk,' 'The Shape of Water' Lead Satellite Award Nominations". The Wrap. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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External links
- Wind River at IMDb
- Wind River at Rotten Tomatoes
- Wind River at Metacritic
- Wind River at Box Office Mojo
- Wind River (2017) at The Numbers
- 2017 films
- 2010s mystery films
- 2010s thriller films
- 2010s Western (genre) films
- American films
- American thriller films
- English-language films
- Federal Bureau of Investigation in fiction
- Films about Native Americans
- Films directed by Taylor Sheridan
- Films set in Wyoming
- Films shot in Utah
- Neo-Western films
- Rape in film
- Screenplays by Taylor Sheridan
- Voltage Pictures films