“Wind River” is Taylor Sheridan’s third project ever since he made his debut with Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario” in 2015. Following up “Sicario”, Sheridan teamed up with rookie David McKenzie for 2016’s “Hell or High Water” (HOHW), that ended up earning a Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards. “Hell or High Water” didn’t come away victorious in any category it was nominated in, but seeing a young talent like Sheridan sit amongst the ranks as one of the best of the year is pretty special. So, where does Sheridan go next? Does he go back to acting? Does he start an original script? Does he challenge his talent by directing and writing a small budget crime drama inspired by true events that gets a small release in a barren August? Well, of course he goes with the latter. “Wind River” is written and directed by Taylor Sheridan and stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as tracker Cory Lambert (Renner) and FBI Agent Jane Banner (Olsen). Lambert and Banner come together to pursue the cause of death of an 18 year-old Native American girl on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. If anyone knows my tastes as a film fan you would know that this movie is right up my alley. Crime dramas are my bread and butter, and Taylor Sheridan is the one layering that toasted bread perfectly with butter. Having been blown away by his work in “Sicario” and “HOHW” I could not wait to feast on “Wind River”. Knowing very little about the production and holding off on any trailers until the release date was around the corner only helped build what may come. Hell, I even ignored every ounce of footage for “HOHW” and that ended up being one of my favorite films of last year. The first wave of reviews for “Wind River” were praising Sheridan’s accomplishments and granting the film as being one of the best of the year. As you could expect, nothing was gonna stop me from seeing this movie in theaters, and now you’re probably telling me to get on with it and just tell you what I thought of the film. Thankfully, Taylor Sheridan’s directorial debut in “Wind River” is nothing short of exceptional. In “Wind River” we see the start of someone being the face of the future of Hollywood. A director/writer who is capable of showcasing his talents and telling his story through his characters and the interactions they share with others. Sheridan has a keen eye and knack for funneling the energy of his story through our main character. Where most movies get lost is worrying too much about the bang, whizzes, and pops that come and go in the plot. “Wind River” very much so contains the bangs, whizzes, and pops, but he makes those moments of excitement earned. He has the ability to make us empathize, learn, and understand the characters so we get this unbreakable bond with them so that in the darkest times of the narrative we care that much more. This is something that even the most popular and highly revered directors can’t tackle and that’s what ultimately makes “Wind River” feel like a seasoned vet was in the director’s chair. While Sheridan struggles with the first half of the movie in trying to find his footing doing this director thing, he makes it all come around in the film’s latest stages. It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish and Sheridan does that here. Because early on it feels like Sheridan is trying to emulate the suffocating aggressiveness of “Sicario” and balancing that with the tense sincerity of “Hell or High Water”. It made me feel like Sheridan didn’t know what he really wanted to do or where he wanted to get the movie. For stretches of time it almost feels as if we’re watching scenes go by that matter none to the overall picture. When Sheridan approaches the last act we see him blossom into his own as a director. He made the entire trip worth it with one unique trick up his sleeve. It took the movie from “just good”, to “one of the best of the year”, and it’s hard for movies to do that in one fell swoop. Sheridan has a clear understanding of the messages and themes he’s trying to convey and does so in a such a subtly poignant way. A lot of directors today will present messages or themes but never follow through with concluding them or making them feel earned once the credits begin to roll. What Sheridan does here, as showcased before in his previous efforts, is tackle weighty themes and messages and does so through his character’s experiences. Whether it’s through implicit imagery of one animal preying on another, or two men from two different backgrounds fully clothed in their culture’s apparel connecting to one another through a mutual travesty. Sheridan’s script and direction of that script is mature, seasoned, and powerful. Many have claimed that this is just another American produced “white savior” film but I don’t see it that way at all. I firmly believe that Sheridan is able to showcase a white man and woman connecting to the Native American people through the experiences they, much like the Native Americans have faced in this film. White people obviously will not be able to understand what Native Americans have gone through throughout history, but in this film I see a director who was able to take the white man and make him empathize with the Native American people by making him understand the pain and anguish they are suffering as a collective group of people. Then Sheridan tops it off with a powerful image with some text appearing on screen that cements “Wind River” as one of the best movies of the year. Watch out Mr. Sorkin, Officer Hale is on your tail. “Wind River” gets a 97/100