Choosing between "Wind River", "Logan Lucky", "Hitman's Bodyguard", "Landline" or "The Only Living Boy in New York" I chose "Wind River" which was a huge mistake!

"Wind River" opens with the death of a young Native American teenage girl running barefoot in the snow on a Wyoming Indian reservation. From that opening, it is as if the violence never ends with wolves being killed, lions killing animals, men killing men, the leading man's (Jeremy Renner), daughter, a friend of the dead girl, having been murdered like that girl, a girl being gang-raped, everyone both good and bad being hunters and hunted with the members of the audience being put through a lot, too much, pain.

Ther screenplay by Taylor Sheridan who also directed the film is all over the place in both departments while the score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis adds tension and helps one feel the cold and snow in the excellent cinematography.

The cast starting with Jeremy Renner as a trapper and Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI rookie who realizes she can learn a lot from the trapper along with Gil Birmingham and Tantoo Cardinal as the dead girl's parents with her being played by Kelsey Asbille in a flashback along with Jon Bernthal as her older boyfriend, Julia Jones as the trapper's ex-wife, Tio Briones as their son all do fine jobs though, either through the soundtrack, mumbling or whispers many points of the story are lost.

As bad as the violence is the role played by James Jordan is so appalling bad one has to wonder if the director hoped the audience would laugh at it to get the bad taste of rapes, murders and bodily destruction out of their heads as they left the auditorium.

"Wind River" is based on a true story and at the end credits there are some comments that I felt had very little to do with the story we had seen.

Unless you are a lover of human and animal violence I do not recommend "Wind River".

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN9PDOoLAfg