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****
Dir: Taylor Sheridan (15, 107 mins)
The writer of the excellent Sicario and Hell or High Water makes his directorial debut with his third thriller examining the underbelly of America. This taut nail biter is set on a snowy reservation, where Jeremy Renner’s US Fish and Wildlife Service agent stumbles upon the corpse of a young woman who’s died in mysterious circumstances. Mary Elisabeth Olsen’s FBI agent is called in to help out and has to deal not only with the punishing weather but with an isolated Native American community with its own share of problems. Getting to the truth of the situation is going to be tricky and violent. Sheridan punctuates the gripping story with moments of harsh action and his film vents its frustration at the plight of the Native American. Renner and Olsen spark against each other well, and the film shares a muscular blueprint with Sicario and Hell or High Water with the barren wintry terrain another character in the story. Nick Cave provides an atmospheric mournful score and Native American actor Gil Birmingham shines in a supporting role, providing a counterweight to the white investigators. Gripping and immediate with a hardboiled noir western vibe, Wind River is another great American film from Taylor Sheridan.
Opens Sept 8