There have been loads of nice Taylor Sheridan films and TV exhibits over time, however I’ll be damned if Wind River just isn’t the most effective factor he’s ever made. I’ve been obsessive about this film ever because it first got here out again in 2017, and over time, I’ve watched it extra instances than I can depend. Now that it’s obtainable as soon as once more with a Netflix subscription, I’ve gone again and finished it once more.
Revisiting the gritty thriller close to the highest of CinemaBlend’s better of 2017 listing, I used to be oh so excited to expertise Wind River’s most intense scene: the standoff between police and a menacing group of safety contractors. After watching this scene for just like the hundredth time, I’ve to speak about it…
The Standoff Between The Police And The Oilfield Safety Staff Is A Masterclass In Rising Rigidity
Although Taylor Sheridan is generally identified today for his work on the ever-expanding Yellowstone universe and its big selection of characters, of us shouldn’t overlook that he’s probably the greatest screenwriters in terms of rising stress. This scene, which takes place as Elizabeth Olsen’s FBI Agent Jane Banner leads a bunch of police to analyze the homicide of a younger Native American girl, begins off harmless sufficient with a dialog between authorities and safety contractors on a drilling web site, however that doesn’t final lengthy.
Over the course of the scene, Sheridan slowly but methodically pushes the items round, ultimately resulting in a terrifyingly excessive and unpredictable standoff the place everybody has drawn their weapons whereas additionally having a gun pointed at them. It’s affected person, it’s quiet, it’s thrilling, and it’s an absolute masterclass in stress that’s simply as exceptional now because it was upon my first watch.
Additionally, The Means Taylor Sheridan Inserts A Flashback In The Center Is Excellent
I can also’t get sufficient of how Sheridan inserts a flashback simply at first pops off. Natalie Hanson’s (Kelsey Asbille) destiny is already identified earlier than the scene, however the how and why aren’t revealed till this grueling and traumatizing sequence. The flashback, which exhibits Natalie’s closing hours, in addition to these of her ill-fated boyfriend, Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal), begins innocently sufficient earlier than turning right into a gut-wrenching and gutting collection of occasions.
We don’t actually know the place the safety guards stand earlier than this, however all hope that these guys aren’t complicit within the murders goes out the window as we watch the identical guys brutally assault a girl earlier than beating her boyfriend to loss of life in entrance of her, earlier than she suffers the same destiny. Reducing again to the current day, now understanding what these guys are about, takes issues to the following stage.
The Shootout Following The Standoff Is Equally As Terrifying And Intense
After an intense standoff and a harrowing flashback, all the things involves a head when the cops and safety contractors begin taking pictures one another prefer it’s a scene out of probably the greatest Westerns. Jane getting shot off the entrance step, Officer Ben Shoyo (the late Graham Greene) taking out a number of contractors earlier than getting shot within the neck, and a close to execution earlier than Agent Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) kills the remainder with a high-power rifle make this an unforgettable and terrifying scene.
Your entire sequence is loud, explosive, and chaotic, and it’s pulled off so successfully due to the best way Sheridan allowed the stress to slowly construct over the course of a number of minutes.
It looks like I’m not alone in my love for Wind River, because the film is at present rising via the ranks of the Netflix High 10 practically a decade after its launch.