'Wind River' - a dramatic must-see film

   POINT RICHMOND - The film Wind River is so gripping a tale, it's unlikely most in-theater viewers will even glance at their watches at any juncture in this fast-moving, one hour and 47-minute film.

Jeremy Renner

    And this is a must-see-in-the-theater movie.
    The full-screen winter Wyoming scenery is haunting. Plus, the grittiness of life on the Indian reservation is best viewed on the big screen - large enough for it to hit hard.
    It's not pretty.
 
   But that not-prettiness helps highlight the resilience of the residents of the reservation, reeling from the murder of an 18-year-old girl. The Native Americans are the descendants of great warriors. And it shows.
   Jeremy Renner - as a veteran game tracker - does a steady job as the film's hero. Underneath a classically western steely persona, Renner's character is a man tortured by the earlier loss of his own child and a divorce.

Elizabeth Olsen and Graham Green

   After he discovers the body of the murdered girl, he ends up paired with a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based FBI agent (played by a doe-eyed Elizabeth Olsen) to solve the crime. At first they are as unlikely a pair as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. But that resolves itself quickly.
 
 One of the best supporting roles in the film is played by Graham Greene as the tribal police chief. His ability to convey complex emotions with just his facial expressions is amazing.

   Wind River is fast-paced and directed nearly to perfection.
   It also offers several moral/ethical questions to ponder in post-movie hours.
  And it's a film of details and nuance - which is why taking yours eyes off the screen for even a moment is a bad idea.
   If you only see one movie this fall, watch Wind River.
   Really.

Running for her life - barefoot