Wind River

Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, Wind River is the story of a young FBI agent who helps a tracker find a murderer at an Indian reservation in Wyoming. The film is an exploration into the world of Native Americans and how two different people try to do what is right as they also explore the dark aspects of their surroundings. Starring Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, and Graham Greene. Wind River is a riveting and somber film from Taylor Sheridan.

An 18-year old Native American woman is found dead by a wildlife tracker as he is aided by a young FBI agent who wants to know if it was a homicide as they deal with not just their surroundings but also the sense of tension among the Native American community in a small town in Wyoming. It’s a film that isn’t just about a murder in an area that features a prominent Native American community in this small Wyoming town but also a man who knows that girl as she was the best friend of her daughter who had died a few years earlier. Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay isn’t just about the mystery of who killed this young girl but also the neglect towards Native Americans as it relate to them being victims of crime despite the fact their local sheriff in Ben (Graham Greene) is a Native American who cares about them but isn’t given enough resources to do justice.

Yet, the Native Americans do have an ally and friend in Cory Booker (Jeremy Renner) who is agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that tracks wild animals that is harmful to any farm animals as he is first seen killing wolves from afar for trying to attack a herd of sheep where he would find the body of this girl in Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Chow). The idea that Natalie could’ve been murder catches the attention of FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) who arrives to Wyoming unprepared for its conditions and the land itself as she believes that it is a murder. Banner is definitely the outsider as someone who hasn’t been on the field nor does she know how to conduct herself as a Caucasian in a Native American community as she needs Booker to help her. Booker’s role in the investigation is personal as he is still reeling from the loss of his daughter a few years ago that led to him being separated from his wife as he makes a promise to Natalie’s father Martin (Gil Birmingham) to find out what happened. Even as he has to contend with some in the Native American community who don’t like him because he’s Caucasian yet is one of the few that can actually help them.

Sheridan’s direction is definitely exquisite in terms of the setting and locations though it is actually shot in Utah as part of this small town in Wyoming with areas near the Rocky Mountains. Much of the direction is quite simple as it play into this very cold and snowy land that is Wyoming in the northwestern part of America as it features images of the Native American community feeling disconnected from traditional society as there’s a shot of the American flag shown upside down. For someone like Booker, he understands their disconnect as he too is disconnected from traditional society due to his grief yet is still trying to be a good father to his son Casey (Teo Briones) as well as help out his ex-wife’s parents. While Sheridan would use a lot of wide shots to capture the scope of the locations, he does maintain an air of intimacy in the close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the investigation and the interaction between characters during the non-investigation scenes.

Sheridan would take his time in letting things unfold for the film’s climax where he would put in something that is a major reveal about what happened but also this air of isolation that is prevalent to those who aren’t part of conventional society. It adds to this harrowing conclusion that emphasizes on this neglect in American society towards not just Native Americans but also this region such as Wyoming, the Dakotas, Utah, and areas with Native American reservations that doesn’t seem to really be part of the United States of America. Especially when it comes to justice as there are very few instances where the right thing is done yet America is more concerned with what’s happening in other parts of the country and the world rather than those who were in this country first. Overall, Sheridan crafts a gripping and chilling film about a tracker and a FBI agent trying to find out who killed an 18-year old Native American woman.

Cinematographer Ben Richardson does excellent work with the film’s cinematography in the way many of the daytime exteriors are presented with its emphasis on natural lighting with the scenes at light displaying some low-key lighting for some scenes including the exterior settings in some scenes. Editor Gary D. Roach does brilliant work with the editing as it is straightforward for much of the film with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense and action. Production designer Neil Spisak, with set decorator Cynthia A. Neibaur and art director Lauren Slatten, does fantastic work with the look of the homes of Booker, the Hanson family, as well as some Native American junkies who live in trailer parks. Costume designer Kari Perkins does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual with the look of the uniforms the deputies wear with winter hats and such as well as the winter gear that Banner had to borrow on her search of the murder site.

Hair/makeup designer Felicity Bowring does terrific work with some of the makeup as it relates to the sense of loss that Martin Hanson is dealing with as he’s wearing war paint to express his grief. Visual effects supervisor Dottie Starling does some fine work with the visual effects as it is mainly set-dressing for a few exterior shots in the film. Sound editor Alan Robert Murray and sound designer Tom Ozanich do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sound of gunfire and such throughout the film. The film’s music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is amazing as it is a major highlight of the film for its mixture of folk and ambient music with violins to play into the somber tone of the film while the rest of the soundtrack consists mainly of folk and country music.

The casting by Jordan Bass and Lauren Bass is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Tantoo Cardinal and Apesanahkwat as Booker’s former in-laws, Eric Lange as the local autopsy official, Tokala Black Elk as a notorious junkie in Sam Littlefeather, Martin Sensmeier as Martin’s estranged drug-addict son Chip, Teo Briones as Booker’s son Casey, Althea Sam as Natalie’s mother, Kelsey Chow as Natalie, Julia Jones as Booker’s estranged ex-wife Wilma, James Jordan as a man working at an oil rig in Pete, and Jon Bernthal as an oil worker named Matt who was seeing Natalie on the night she died. Gil Birmingham is excellent as Martin Hanson as Natalie’s father who is given the news about his daughter as he succumbs to grief and anger while asking Booker to do what is right. Graham Greene is brilliant as Ben as the town’s local sheriff who is also Native American as a man that had seen a lot as he tells Banner about how things work in the town as he also hopes to do what is right for everyone.

Elizabeth Olsen is phenomenal as Jane Banner as a rookie FBI agent who is given her first real test as an agent while being someone that is an idealistic in wanting to do what is right as she also copes with the severity of her assignment and what she has to do to get things done. Finally, there’s Jeremy Renner in a sensational performance as Cory Booker as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent/tracker who would find the body of this young woman forcing him to deal with his own loss from years ago where he would help Banner and others find out who killed her as well as gain some redemption for how he lost his own daughter.

Wind River is a tremendous film from Taylor Sheridan that features top-notch performances from Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. Along with its supporting cast, themes on justice and neglect, eerie music score, and a chilling setting. It’s a suspense film that doesn’t play by the rules while acknowledging the sense of alienation and neglect towards a group of people who never have things go in their favor. In the end, Wind River is a magnificent film from Taylor Sheridan.

Related: Sicario - Hell or High Water

© thevoid99 2017

Hell or High Water

Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water is the story of two brothers who decide to rob banks to save their family ranch as they are being pursued by two Texas Rangers. The film is a crime thriller set in West Texas as it play into a battle between brothers and the two men trying to go after them. Starring Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey, and Jeff Bridges. Hell or High Water is a rapturous yet gripping film from David Mackenzie.

A series of robberies in West Texas prompts an aging Texas Ranger and his new partner to investigate these robberies as they’re unaware that the two robbers are brothers trying to save their family ranch by robbing the banks that is taking away the ranch. It’s a film that play into a world that has two brothers becoming desperate over a reverse mortgage as the family ranch is about to foreclosed as the timing of it is bad since their mother had passed three weeks earlier. They would rob banks and go to Indian casinos to use the money to gamble and then use that money as a check to the banks they stole the money from. Taylor Sheridan’s screenplay is definitely play into the motivations of Toby Howard (Chris Pine) and his older ex-con brother Tanner (Ben Foster) as the latter wants to help his younger brother save the ranch as Toby is aware of how rich the land is and wants to pass it on to his sons.

While Tanner is definitely more experienced in robberies as he would do all of the yelling and intimidation tactics, it is Toby that remains quiet and makes sure things go quietly as he knows what he has to do for his sons and his ex-wife Debbie (Marin Ireland). Being aware of these robberies is Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) who is days away from retirement as he is joined by his new partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) as they drive around various small town in Texas wondering where the next bank will hit. Sheridan’s dialogue and portrayal of characters is key to the film in the way he portrays the Howard brothers as well as Hamilton as men who carry old ideas of the west where Hamilton does say politically-incorrect things toward his half-Native American/half-Mexican partner as well as the fact that he believes these robbers are robbing these specific banks for a reason. Especially as Parker says something about what is happening as there is a hint of irony into what the brothers are doing as it relates to how the Native Americans lost their homes except that things are much darker and more complicated.

David Mackenzie’s direction is definitely ravishing in the way he captures this feel of the American West in not just its vast beauty but also for being this area that is disconnected by the major cities of America where many of these small towns become stricken with poverty and almost become some short of ghost town. Shot on various locations in New Mexico as West Texas, the film does play as this idea of the West in a modern setting where Mackenzie would use wide shots to capture the beauty of these locations from the shots of the deserts and mountains. The locations don’t just play to this decline of the West due to modernism but also for the fact that the old ways are gone as it’s something the Howard brothers seem to fight for as it relates to their ranch. Mackenzie would use some close-up and medium shots to play into the characters interacting with each other as well as some long shots to capture the action as it plays out.

Even as Mackenzie would create elements of tension and dark humor in the film as some of the violent moments are restrained until the third act. Notably as there is an element of suspense and terror that looms throughout the film as Hamilton and the Howard brothers never interact or see each other. It just adds to this air of suspense as a showdown is inevitable but also play into the idea of what had been lost in the West prompting these two forces to finally meet and see what it’s all about. Overall, Mackenzie creates a gripping yet haunting film about a Texas Ranger trying to capture two brothers who are robbing banks to save their family ranch.

Cinematographer Giles Nuttgens does brilliant work with the film’s gorgeous cinematography to play into the sunny and dream-like look of the Texan skylines as well as the usage of unique lighting for some of the interiors including some of the scenes in the casinos and natural lighting for a restaurant Hamilton and Parker go to. Editor Jake Roberts does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense. Production designer Tom Duffield, with set decorator Wilhelm Pfau and art director Steve Cooper, does fantastic work with the look of Howard family ranch as well as some of the places that the characters go to.

Costume designer Malgosia Turzanska does nice work with the costumes from the cowboy-like clothes of the Howard brothers to the Texas Ranger uniform that Hamilton and Parker wear. Sound designer Frank Gaeta does amazing work with the film’s sound as it play into the suspense and some of the natural elements of the locations. The film’s music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is incredible as its mixture of eerie strings and keyboard music play into the drama and decline of the West as it is a major highlight of the film while director David Mackenzie and editor Jake Roberts supervise the film’s soundtrack that mainly features a mixture of country, rock, and blues.

The casting by Jo Edna Boldin and Richard Hicks is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from screenwriter Taylor Sheridan as a cowboy getting his herd of cows out of a field fire, John Paul Howard and Christopher W. Garcia as Toby’s sons, Amber Midthunder as a young bank clerk, Melanie Paplia as a hooker trying to flirt with Toby, Alma Sisneros as a hotel clerk that Tanner woos, Dale Dickey as a bank employee who is taken hostage in the film’s opening sequence, Katy Mixon as a restaurant waitress that tries to woo Toby, and Marin Ireland as Toby’s ex-wife Debbie. Gil Birmingham is fantastic as Alberto Parker as Hamilton’s new partner who bears the insults that Hamilton gives him while dealing with the severity of the case as well as bringing his own insights about the ways of the world. Ben Foster is brilliant as Tanner Howard as the eldest of the two brothers who has been convicted for robberies and such as he knows how to rob banks as he’s a little unhinged but is also someone that is vulnerable as it relates to his own troubled relationship with his parents.

Chris Pine is amazing as Toby Howard as the younger of the two brothers who is also a father as someone who is levelheaded as he laments over the situation he’s in as well as making sure his sons don’t go through the struggles he went through as a child. Finally, there’s Jeff Bridges in a phenomenal performance as Marcus Hamilton as a Texas Ranger who is about to retire that takes on this case as he doesn’t just deal with the area he’s in but also the changes of the landscape that haunts him as well as his own ideas of why these robberies are happening.

Hell or High Water is a tremendous film from David Mackenzie that features great performances from Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster. Along with its brilliant ensemble cast, Taylor Sheridan’s riveting script, the chilling score of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, dazzling visuals, and top-notch suspense. The film is definitely an unconventional yet evocative suspense-thriller that also acts as a true western. In the end, Hell or High Water is a spectacular film from David Mackenzie.

David Mackenzie Films: (The Last Great Wilderness) – (Young Adam) – (Asylum (2005 film)) – (Hallam Foe) – (Spread) – (Perfect Sense) – (You Instead) – (Starred Up) – (Outlaw King)

© thevoid99 2017