WIND RIVER

Filmmaker Taylor Sheridan (screenwriter of Hell or High Water) has crafted an intelligent genre film that is replete with tension, sensitivity, and enough sudden outbursts of violence to remind us that the West can be a very dangerous place to live. Jeremy Renner crafts a nuanced performance as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker who finds himself channeling his grief into a manhunt to find the culprits behind the death of a Native American teen. His teammates are a novice F.B.I. agent (Elizabeth Olsen) and a savvy, common-sense tribal police officer (Graham Greene, who is terrific). The trio are up against the cold, isolated expanse of a land that shapes men into killers and leaves the innocent to die. The film is marred by one too many scripting flaws, but it delivers a strong emotional payoff and includes some fastpaced and unexpected shoot-outs. Rated R. 107 minutes. Regal Stadium 14; Violet Crown; DreamCatcher. (Robert Nott)