"Wind River" nice finish to trilogy

While this final trilogy of the modern American West, Wind River, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, is very good, I feel it's the weakest of the three. The first two, for those who want to know, are Sicario and Hell or High Water. Don't get me wrong, this is a fine film, just not quite up to the excellent standards of the others.

This movie takes us to the cold winter of Wyoming where the death of a woman who is found in the frozen waste on the Wind River reservation brings together Jeremy Renner, playing a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee and Elizabeth Olsen, portraying a relative newbie F.B.I. agent. They team together to investigate the woman's death.

The path toward the solution of the mystery takes us on a trip through the plight of the Native American. Olsen is used as the fish out of water trope to explain to us just how bleak life on a reservation is, and how we are totally oblivious to the quality of life on reservations. I was particularly amazed at how complex jurisdiction is when it comes to crimes committed on a reservation.

The acting is top notch and I really enjoyed the story. My interest was held throughout the film. There were gorgeous panoramic views of the snow covered countryside that really enhanced the mood of the piece. The cinematography is magnificent and is an integral element within all three of Mr. Sheridan's films.

My one nitpick is the use of what I call the shaky cam. I'm sure there's a technical term for it, but I'm not keen on the technique. In certain scenes, usually intense, the camera goes into a free form, hand held shake mode. I'm sure there is some artsy-fartsy reasoning such as it makes the audience uncomfortable like the characters are, but I just find it annoying. It takes me out of the movie for a bit.

There is a graphic at the end of the film that I found quite startling and a travesty. I don't understand why, but I hope that this film can help remedy the situation.

I look forward to Mr. Sheridan's future works. His writing and directing are excellent.