History Film / WindRiver

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: Cory dragging the wounded, frostbitten Pete up onto a freezing cold mountain peak, psychologically tormenting him before firing a gun next to his head and telling to run barefoot through the snow, and leaving him to die of exposure alone in the wilderness is undeniably brutal, but given that the latter is [[AssholeVictim a sniveling, cowardly rapist and murderer who blames his horrific crimes on lame excuses and pathetically begs for his life]] it's hard to feel too bad for him.]]

* ThePlace

* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: A tragically realistic case with Ben, the Tribal Police Chief. Jane is often horrified to learn [[CrapsackWorld just how bad conditions are]] in TheRez, and how much [[InherentInTheSystem the system is rigged against the people receiving any kind of justice]], but Ben is an old cop who's SeenItAll.

* GoingNative: Cory, a white man who married a Native American woman and fathered two kids with her. Even after [[spoiler:their daughter died]] and they got a divorce, he came to love the reservation, culture, and people so much he decided to stay. So much that he's actually the one to encourage her to stay on TheRez, let their son stay in touch with his maternal grandparents, and learn the ways of his people, while she's the one who's eager to cut and run.

* NaiveNewcomer: Jane is a rookie FBI agent, as well as not being very knowledgeable about either the laundry list of problems on TheRez or various aspects of native culture. This contrasts with Cory, who, while not native himself, married into and is respected by the tribe and is a very talented hunter.

* TheRez: The [[TitleDrop Wind River]] Indian Reservation is the primary setting for the film. It falls under the political variety, with the extreme poverty, lawlessness, and absence of proper law enforcement.

* CruelAndUnsualDeath: Natalie, though surviving her rape and attack, ended up dying by drowning in her own blood out in the cold. [[spoiler: Pete, her rapist, has the same agonizing death inflicted upon him at the end of the film.]]

* CreulAndUnsualDeath: Natalie, though surviving her rape and attack, ended up dying by drowning in her own blood out in the cold. [[spoiler: Pete, her rapist, has the same agonizing death inflicted upon him at the end of the film.]]

* InstantDeathBullet: Realistically averted as no one dies instantly unless they're shot in the head or heart. Jane even [[MultipleGunshotDeath empties her sidearm into one suspect]] during a shootout and he doesn't die til a few seconds later.

* RedHerring: [[spoiler:As information about Natalie's unmet boyfriend is revealed--namely, that he is a white security officer from off the rez at least a decade her senior--the characters and audience are increasingly led to believe he was the assailant... until his body is also discovered in the snow. A flashback reveals that Matt genuinely cared about Natalie and died trying to protect her.]]

* OldCopYoungCop: Ben and Jane. Cory and Jane, too, even though Cory is not a law enforcement officer.

* StupidEvil: [[spoiler:The security team already pushed it by raping Natalie and recklessly murdering Matt when he tried to intervene, but they really go off the rails when they try to cover up the crime by also murdering a sheriff, several deputies, and an FBI agent. One really has to wonder how they thought they could get away with this, although if Pete is to be believed, they all did simply GoMadFromTheIsolation]].

* OhCrap: The corrupt security force collectively has one of these when they start panicking once Cory starts taking them down after they ambushed Jane and the deputies. They can't see him because of his snow camo, he's using a powerful rifle that makes their body armor useless, and he's picking them off methodically while they frantically look for him.

* HeroicSacrifice: Tragically subverted [[spoiler: with Matt, who dies fighting the rest of the security team to give Natalie a chance to escape. Unfortunately, given the freezing conditions and help being miles away, she expires before she can reach safety, rendering Matt's sacrifice moot]]. However, [[spoiler:the deaths of Ben and the Fremont County deputies, which bought Jane time to reload and Cory time to line up his shots]], may qualify.

The film stars Creator/JeremyRenner and Creator/ElizabethOlsen as US Fish and Wildlife hunter Cory Lambert and FBI agent Jane Banner respectively who team up with local police to solve a murder of a young woman on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Like many of Sheridan's films, ''Wind River'' draws off of Western iconography in a modern setting to cast light on contemporary issues: in this case, the ongoing neglect of Native Americans by the U.S. federal government and the resulting problems of poverty, drug abuse, and violence.

* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: [[spoiler:One of the security guards headshots one of their buddies when they announce they're alright after being downed, out of panicked reflex most likely.]]

* {{Fanservice}}: About a minute after Jane is introduced, she is shown changing into warmer clothes and we get a lovely (and gratuitous) [[PantyShot shot of her ass in a thong]].

* ArmorIsUseless: Averted, then played straight. The body armor of the corrupt security team serves them well against the handguns of Jane and the deputies, but once Cody gets to work with his rifle loaded with heavy bear-killing rounds, they may as well be naked. He dispatches four of them with four shots in under thirty seconds.

''Wind River'' is a 2017 crime drama/thriller written and directed by ''Film/{{Sicario}}'' and ''Film/HellOrHighWater'' screenwriter Taylor Sheridan.

* AdultFear: For Martin and [[spoiler:Cory]]. Your teenage daughter's body has been found frozen in the wilderness, after she was beaten and raped, because you weren't watching her. Even if she was a good girl whom you love and trust dearly, who stayed safe and made good choices about her life, all it takes is ''one night'' of her being unsupervised and attracting the wrong kind of attention from the wrong kind of people for her to wind up dead.

* RevengeByProxy: Cory gets involved in the investigation of Natalie's murder as a way of finding closure for himself after what happened to his daughter, who died under similar circumstances years ago.

* PoliceAreUseless: Very downplayed and justified. The tribal police help as much as they can, but it's made clear multiple times that they are simply undermanned for such a large area (they have six officers for an area the size of Rhode Island).

* JurisdictionFriction: A major aspect of the film, considering it is set on tribal land and basically all the characters work for different agencies. Cory works for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Jane for the FBI, Ben for the Wind River Tribal Police, they are later joined by two Fremont County Sheriff deputies and a few officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Plus the private security contractors working for the oil company also mention that the land where the rig is is leased by ''another'' government agency, the US Department of Energy. The tension over who actually has jurisdiction over the drill site reaches fever pitch during the MexicanStandoff:

* JurisdictionFriction: A major aspect of the film, considering it is set on tribal land and basically all the characters work for different agencies. Cory works for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Jane for the FBI, Ben for the Wind River Tribal Police, they are later joined by two Fremont County Sheriff deputies and a few officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Plus the private security contractors working for the oil company also mention that the land where the rig is is leased by ''another'' government agency, the US Department of Energy. The tension over who actually has jurisdiction becomes apparent during the MexicanStandoff: