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Wind River (film)

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2017 film
Wind River
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTaylor Sheridan
Written byTaylor Sheridan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBen Richardson
Edited byGary D. Roach
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 21, 2017 (2017-01-21) (Sundance)
  • August 4, 2017 (2017-08-04) (United States)
  • August 30, 2017 (2017-08-30) (France)
  • September 8, 2017 (2017-09-08) (United Kingdom)
Running time111 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
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

The film begins with a bleeding girl running barefoot in a panic, through deep snow in the moonlight, before collapsing. After daybreak expert tracker and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Cory Lambert discovers the frozen body of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. He sees she is barefoot, without proper winter attire, miles from any building and with a blood-stained groin. Rookie FBI special agent Jane Banner arrives to investigate the 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 reveals blunt trauma and rape, 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 bunch of Native American men caught up in drug use. Ben, Cory and Jane go to the addicts' residence and question one man who answers the door, known for his criminal record and clearly high on drugs. 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. Chip is questioned on suspicion of involvement in his sister’s death, but in fact he is devastated to learn of it. However, he later tells Cory that Natalie's boyfriend is called Matt and where he works.

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, then finds Matt's naked corpse. At the same time, the behavior of the security agents causes the deputies to suspect an ambush, and a standoff ensues as they approach Matt's trailer. Jane manages to convince everyone to stand down. Jane knocks, expecting that another crew member, Pete, is sleeping inside.

A flashback sequence shows Natalie knocking at the door, and a playful Matt answering. As she and Matt cuddle in bed after sex, talking about their future together, the other agents return to the trailer drunk and intrude into Matt's bedroom. After the others refuse to remove the most offensive man, Pete, Matt hits him and kicks him out, only to be ambushed by the whole team moments later. The men knock out Matt and Natalie, before 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, Jane is shot through the door at point blank range by Pete and in the ensuing gunfight Ben and his deputies are all killed, as well as some of the security agents. Jane is saved by her bulletproof vest. One of the surviving agents readies to finish her off, and is shot by Cory at long range, as he picks off all but one man, Pete, who flees on foot from the back of the trailer, wounded by Jane. Jane asks Cory to pursue him, even when he tells her that he will not bring Pete back. Cory, who lost his own daughter years before to violence, tracks him down and knocks him out. Cory takes Pete to Gannett Peak, where he pressures him to confess to rape and murder in exchange for "freedom." He then cuts Pete 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 sit together in 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 214 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. 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

  1. "Wind River (2016) - BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  2. "Wind River (2016) - BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  3. "Wind River". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  4. ^ "Wind River (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  5. Hornaday, Ann (August 10, 2017). "In 'Wind River,' Jeremy Renner plays a game tracker solving a murder". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  6. "Movie Interviews: Investigating A Murder In 'Wind River'". NPR. August 5, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  7. "Cannes: Weinstein Co. Nabs Jeremy Renner Drama 'Wind River'". The Hollywood Reporter. May 14, 2016.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. Hipes, Patrick (March 17, 2017). "'Mary Magdalene', 'Current War' & 'Wind River' Get 2017 Release Dates From Weinstein". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  11. 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.
  12. Crucchiola, Jordan. "Taylor Sheridan Got Weinstein Company Scrubbed From Wind River With an Ultimatum". Vulture. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  13. "Why 'Transformers' Is Screaming For Reboot After $69M Start; 'Wonder Woman' & 'Cars 3' Fight Over 2nd Place". Deadline Hollywood. June 25, 2017.
  14. ^ Brooks, Brian (August 6, 2017). "Taylor Sheridan's 'Wind River' Opens Robust; 'Step' OK – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  15. D'Allesandro, Anthony (August 13, 2017). "New Line's Dollhouse Of Dough: 'Annabelle: Creation' Opening To $35M". Deadline Hollywood.
  16. D'Allesandro, Anthony. "'Hitman's Bodyguard' Flexes Muscle With $21M+ Opening During Sleepy Summer Weekend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. Erbland, Kate. "The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2017 (A Running List)". IndieWire. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  20. "Wind River (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  21. "Wind River Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  22. Gleiberman, Owen (January 22, 2017). "Sundance Film Review: 'Wind River'". Variety.
  23. "Wind River is a thrilling, violent finale to the Hell or High Water and Sicario trilogy". The Verge. January 23, 2017.
  24. 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.
  25. "'Wind River' Review: Jeremy Renner Is An Ice-Cold Cowboy In Taylor Sheridan's Solid Noir — Sundance 2017". IndieWire. January 23, 2017.
  26. Asenap, Jason (September 15, 2017). "Why do white writers keep making films about Indian Country?". High Country News.
  27. Lodge, Guy (May 27, 2017). "'A Man of Integrity,' 'Wind River,' 'Barbara' Take Un Certain Regard Awards at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  28. "2017 Award Winners". National Board of Review. May 27, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  29. "'Dunkirk,' 'The Shape of Water' Lead Satellite Award Nominations". The Wrap. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  30. 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. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

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