Wind River Dvd

Wind River is a 2017 neo-Western murder mystery film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker and an FBI agent, respectively, who try to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal and Graham Greene also star.

Sheridan has said that he wrote the film to raise awareness of the issue of the high number of Indigenous women who are raped and murdered, both on and off reservations.

Wind River premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 4, 2017. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $45 million against an $11 million budget. It was theatrically released by The Weinstein Company (TWC), but in October 2017, following the reporting of numerous sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the film’s distribution rights for home media were acquired by Lionsgate. Weinstein’s credits and logo were omitted on home media and streaming services, which resulted in TWC losing distribution rights.

Plot

During the winter on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, expert tracker and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Cory Lambert discovers the frozen body of 18-year-old Natalie Hanson in the snow. Her body is barefoot, without proper winter attire, miles from any building, and has a blood-stained groin. FBI Special Agent Jane Banner arrives to investigate a possible homicide, because the FBI has jurisdiction over murder cases on reservations. The next day, Banner learns from Natalie’s father, Martin, that his daughter was dating a new boyfriend, but he does not know the man’s name or where he lives. The autopsy shows blunt trauma and sexual violence and confirms Lambert’s deduction that the girl died from exposure. She suffered pulmonary hemorrhage caused by rapid inhalation of sub-zero air. However, the medical examiner is unable to confirm the death as a homicide, and Agent Banner cannot get additional help from FBI investigators.

Lambert discovers that Natalie’s “new boyfriend” was Matt Rayburn, who works security at a nearby oil drilling site. The next day, Matt’s body is discovered, nude and already ravaged by scavenging wildlife. Lambert tells Agent Banner about his own daughter’s death three years earlier. Her body was discovered in the snow, following a party at their house while he and his wife were away. No one was charged in her death.

Banner, accompanied by Tribal Police Chief Ben Shoyo and additional officers, visit the drill site where they are met by several of the company’s security guards. They report that Matt had stormed off a few days ago, following an argument with Natalie, and has not been seen since. One guard mentions that they heard about Natalie’s body being found by monitoring law enforcement radio channels. Agent Banner notes that her name had not been released. One of the police officers notices that the security guards are slowly surrounding Agent Banner and her team. The confrontation quickly escalates into an armed standoff as they argue over who has jurisdiction. Agent Banner defuses the situation by asserting FBI authority. She asks to see where Matt was bunking, and they resume their approach to the trailer.

A flashback shows Natalie in bed with Matt in his trailer, who expresses a loving relationship. Unexpectedly, his security colleagues barge into the trailer after a night of hard drinking. Pete taunts them and tries to sexually assault Natalie, which provokes Matt to violence. The guards retaliate by beating Matt down while Pete rapes Natalie. Matt’s attempt to fight back gives Natalie an opportunity to escape, but the group bludgeon their co-worker to death.

Back in the present, Cory has retraced the tracks from where Matt’s corpse was found back to the drilling camp. Meanwhile, Agent Banner and the police approach the security crew’s sleeping quarters. Cory, looking down at the group from a distance, radios a warning to Police Chief Shoyo. But Agent Banner is wounded in the chest by a shotgun blast fired through the door by Pete. An all-out firefight ensues at point-blank range. Chief Shoyo and the other native officers are killed. As the surviving security guards prepare to execute Agent Banner, Lambert arrives and kills four with his high caliber rifle. Pete, also wounded, flees on foot. Lambert catches him and takes the guard up to a mountain top. After forcing his confession related to Natalie and Matt, Lambert offers him the same chance as Natalie had. He can run barefoot to a distant road wearing only light-weight clothing. Pete runs but quickly succumbs as his lungs give out from the frigid air, suffering a pulmonary hemorrhage.

When Lambert visits Banner in the hospital, he praises her toughness. He later visits Martin, Natalie’s bereaved father, and finds that he is sitting outside his house wearing his “death face” paint and holding a handgun. Cory tells Martin that the case is closed and that the man responsible for Natalie’s death went out, “with a whimper.” They share grief over their daughters’ deaths. A title card follows this scene, stating that missing-persons statistics are kept for every demographic group except for Native American women, whose numbers remain unknown.

Cast

Jeremy Renner as Cory Lambert, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent. He discovers Hanson’s frozen body and evidence of her flight across a snowy landscape. FBI special agent Jane Banner recruits him to help her solve the case. He uses the case as redemption for his teenage daughter Emily, who was found dead three years before.
Elizabeth Olsen as Jane Banner, a rookie FBI special agent. She recruits Lambert as her tracker.
Graham Greene as Ben Shoyo, Tribal Police Chief. He assists Lambert and Banner to solve the possible murder of Natalie Hanson.
Kelsey Chow as Natalie Hanson, Martin and Annie’s daughter and Chip’s sister. She was best friends with Cory’s late daughter, Emily. Her death is the main catalyst for the events of the film.
Gil Birmingham as Martin Hanson, Annie’s husband and Chip and Natalie’s father. He is also Lambert’s close friend.
Julia Jones as Wilma Lambert, Cory’s ex-wife and mother of Emily and Casey.
Martin Sensmeier as Chip Hanson, Martin and Annie’s son and Natalie’s brother. He is a drug addict.
Althea Sam as Annie Hanson, Martin’s wife and mother of Chip and Natalie.
Teo Briones as Casey Lambert, son of Cory and Wilma.
Apesanahkwat as Dan Crowheart, Wilma’s father.
Tantoo Cardinal as Alice Crowheart, Wilma’s mother.
Jon Bernthal as Matt Rayburn, Natalie’s boyfriend.
James Jordan as Pete Mickens, one of Matt’s co-workers.
Hugh Dillon as Curtis, Matt’s superior.
Matthew Del Negro as Dillon, Matt’s co-worker.
Austin Grant as Carl.
Ian Bohen as Evan, a Fremont County Sheriff deputy
Eric Lange as Dr. Randy Whitehurst, medical examiner who conducts the autopsy on Natalie’s body.
Tyler Laracca as Frank Walker, Chip’s friend and a drug dealer.
Gerald Tokala Clifford as Sam Littlefeather, Chip’s friend and a drug dealer.