“Wind River” is the third in a series on border trilogy of directed by acclaimed screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. It began with “Sicario” in 2015 and “Hell Or High Water” in 2016, and the latter turned out to be the highest grossing indie movie of 2016 with a total of $27m in the United States. With such a background, “Wind River” is expected to make its presence felt like the most promising indie film of the year.
“Hell Or High Water” was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay and has taken Sheridan off the indie map and on the road to commercial success but, he is not too bothered about the financial success of his films.
He wants to tell a story in his way and tries to do just that.
The story of ‘Wind River’
Sky News reports that “Wind River” is directed by Taylor Sheridan and stars Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI agent and Avenger's star Jeremy Renner as a wildlife ranger. The story of the indie film is set in Wyoming, and the two are on the trail of a murderer. They are trying to solve the murder in a Native American reserve.
Renner plays the role of wildlife ranger Cory Lambert. He comes across the body of a young Native American woman and decides to assist rookie FBI agent Jane Banner, played by Olsen, to find the answers that lie in the mountains of Wyoming.
Sheridan is a skilled writer, and he has proved it again but, in this movie, he went behind the camera for the first time.
His aim was to explore an America that is still not fully known to others.
It is a different genre of film
Obviously, a film like “Wind River” is not a run-of-the-mill affair. It has a story to tell, and Taylor Sheridan has shown his mettle because he loves to portray common people who no one makes movies about. In “Hell Or High Water” it was the story of two bank-robbers in rural Texas.
They were brothers and Sheridan tried to see America through their eyes. He has no Native American heritage. He grew up in rural Texas and left for Los Angeles to become an actor where he did get a break in a popular TV show but realized that he was not cut out to be an actor.
Today’s blockbuster movies are action packed ones or works of fantasy with robots and aliens apart from animation films, and they mint millions at the box office.
The reason is that viewers are hooked to such a genre of movies that are fast paced and action oriented, and there are very few takers for movies like “Wind River” that has a story to tell. According to Wikipedia, the film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released on August 4, 2017.
