There are parts of Wyoming near nothing. Absolutely nothing. For miles and miles and miles in every direction. In some of these parts, a body could get lost forever. We should consider ourselves fortunate that Natalie (Kelsey Asbille) was found at all among the depths of a snowy mountain winter, five miles away from any sign of civilization. She died barefoot and underdressed after running in the snow at night. Her lungs burst from frost, but this was murder; nobody goes jogging barefoot in the Grand Tetons … even in summer. Good luck with that investigation.
Enter FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen). She was in Las Vegas, where it wasn’t sub-freezing, mountainous or snowy. The FBI isn’t exactly spending its last dime investigating one death on Wind River Native American reservation. Banner, a relative novice, is on her own. She’s a foreign face in a foreign land dealing with local procedural, language, and elemental issues. Is she in over her head? Oh, Hell yes. But what fun is making Tommy Lee Jones investigate everything?
Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) is a professional wolf killer. Much as I detest hunting, it is impossible not to respect the skills set that goes into tracking and shooting wolves in the wild. It’s a pretty good guess this skill set will come in handy before this film ends. Wind River has a real predator/prey feel to it. I suppose it goes with a territory where only the hardiest of creatures find a home. Cory already lost a daughter around Natalie’s age; we can see he wants in on the investigation if only to find an elusive catharsis in his own life.
The words “stark” and “solitary” come to mind when thinking of this film. Many a police procedural will find fault or do battle with a young, solo, or female agent (let alone all three). While there is a little of that going on here, for the most part it’s: “here you go, Agent Banner. The killer is out there. You want to find the guy who did this? Be my guest; I’ll even provide proper clothing and provisions.” The catch is, of course, that Banner can’t “call for backup” at the drop of an antler. In fact, if she dies during the investigation, odds are there won’t be someone around to investigate that death for weeks. Being green in a white landscape is not an ideal situation.
For all this, Wind River is great at showing the tightrope act without a safety net. Even in films where a cop goes undercover, usually somebody has his back. There are a 
few times in this film where Agent Banner is alone, truly alone, and in danger. The setting is awesome for creating tone, which prevails throughout.
Now, let’s talk casting, because for what ever Wind River did well, it has a HUGE “white savior” problem. Let me restate: in a film set entirely on a Native American reservation about the investigation of the murder of a Native American where every single suspect is Native American, the two leads are Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. It would have cost the producers nothing but very minor star power to cast those two roles – or at least one of them – with a Native American actor. This, my friends, is not only why political correctness exists; it is why political correctness NEEDS to exist. President Trump, Trump sympathizers, Trump apologists, hear me now – the refusal of political correctness amounts to nothing more than defending your right to be an asshole. I understand this is important to you, but I think we should all strive for something just a tad higher, no?
Banner’s green yet Hulk-less vocation
Leads to Native investigation
Among tribal blight
All saviors are white
Cast-wise, I have a reservation
Rated R, 107 Minutes
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
Genre: Modern frontier justice
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of mysteries
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The easily offended
