Wind River

Dinner and a Movie

By Steve Herte

Wind River (The Weinstein Company, 2017) – Director: Taylor Sheridan. Writer: Taylor Sheridan. Stars: Kelsey Asbille, Jeremy Renner, Julia Jones, Teo Briones, Apesanahkwat, Graham Greene, Elizabeth Olsen, Tantoo Cardinal, Eric Lange, Gil Birmingham, Althea Sam, Tokala Clifford, Martin Sensmeier, James Jordan, Tyler Laracca & Shayne J. Cullen. Color, Rated R, 107 minutes.

Wind River is a mystery that has to be solved by minimal personnel with even less resources than their wits.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife tracker Cory Lambert (Renner) is called to the Wind River Indian Reservation by Dan Crowheart (Apesanahkwat), who has lost a prized steer to a mountain lion. Cory believes the kill was made by a female teaching her cubs to hunt, but as he tracks the big cats he finds the frozen, shoeless body of Natalie Hanson, an 18-year-old Native American. She has blunt trauma to the head and has been brutally raped. The girl reminds him of his own daughter, lost three years ago, found the same way after a party at his house while he and his Native American wife were out of town.

Cory reports his find to Tribal Police Chief Ben (Greene), who notifies the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI. The FBI sends rookie agent Jane Banner (Olsen) with the promise of back-up once cause of death is determined. But the circumstances are so indeterminate that medical examiner Dr. Whitehurst (Lange) cannot in good conscience put it to paper.

Time is not with Cory and Jane. It is late winter with erratic snowfalls and below zero temperatures. Once Natalie’s identity is established, Cory and Jane visit his good friend Martin Hanson (Birmingham) and his grieving wife Alice (Cardinal). Jane’s clumsy questioning does not go well with Martin and Alice is too overwrought to answer anything. Cory asks about their son Chip (Sensmeier) and learns he’s a drug addict living with Sam Littlefeather (Clifford) and his brother, both dealers. “My son is lost to me,” moans Martin.

But they do learn that Natalie had a boyfriend named Matt who works with the security team at an oil drilling site nearby. On another search for the mountain lions, Cory finds the den and another body, severely preyed on by wild animals. It turns out to be Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal), and the search leads to the drill site, where the mystery is played out in a flashback and solved after a deadly gun battle. But rapist Pete Mickens (James Jordan) escapes. Where does he think he’s going to go with tracker Lambert on his tail?

Wind River is a well-constructed film with an impressive element of truth in it and an unfortunate fact revealed at the end regarding the unknown number of Native American women who go missing and the few that are found. The soundtrack, cinematography and on-site camera work are all effective. There were only a few scenes where the hand-held camera made me dizzy by bouncing up and down. The acting was serious and somewhat tragic in nature (as was the story). The only flaw I saw there was broken sentences in one of Cory’s monologues to Martin which I imagine were supposed to be emotional, but they came off as broken sentences with lengthy pauses between words.

Though not a film for the whole family, Wind River keeps your attention and has a powerful message. The violence and gore underscores the remote, almost lawless stretch of mountainous land where “…there’s nothing harder to track than the truth.”

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 Martini glasses.

Wine: 30

41 East 30^th Street, New York

www.wine30nyc.com

Pan Fried Cigars. It sounds unappetizing and maybe a little unhealthy; something Guy Fieri would relish or Anthony Bourdain would seek out.

It’s but one of the unusual dishes on the menu of this “Wine Bar” on 30^th Street. The name not only tells diners where it’s located but advertises that any time is “wine thirty” and appropriate for imbibing.

I found my wine before looking at the food menu, but checked the drinks list (on the reverse side of the food menu card) first and saw that they made a specialty cocktail with Bulldog London Gin. Tuncay, my server, arrived and I ordered my favorite martini. Alas, they were out of Bulldog and the other gins were of a lesser quality. I switched James Bond gears and found Stolichnaya Elit to be an apt substitute.

Wine: 30 has been in business for at least eight years and Tuncay’s service reflected his three-year experience. I had time to peruse the food menu while the bartender mixed my cocktail and found three courses I liked. When Tuncay returned, he started recommending two of the three dishes I had already selected, as if he knew me. After he noted my choices I was ready to order the wine but he wisely cautioned me to wait, relax and enjoy my drink. No waiter has ever done that before.

First to arrive were the Pan Fried Cigars mentioned above. Composed of Phyllo rolls stuffed with prosciutto, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella and basil filling, they were accompanied by a yoghurt dip mixed with walnuts. The cheese dominated the texture of the filling, and the basil did the same with the flavor until a “cigar” was coated with dip. Then the yoghurt/mayonnaise took over and the crisp phyllo crust added its own flavor.

Tuncay’s timing was remarkable. Halfway through the cigars I finished my drink and I ordered my wine, a  ruby red with deep black raspberry accents and nice, medium body and bold aftertaste.

The next dish was the Zucchini Pancakes – shredded zucchini deep fried with cucumber-dill Yoghurt sauce (also containing walnuts). The sauce was almost identical to the dip on the first appetizer and worked just as well. The pancakes were as crisp as latkes but sweeter, a new and pleasant experience for me.

There were only seven main courses and the one that appealed to me was the Roasted Halibut. It came with broccoli rabe, and roasted red potatoes, in a lemon-chive crème fraiche. At first glance it looked like a large, rectangular fish-stick one might get from a Mrs. Paul’s box. As I dug out the flakey fillet from the coating I found it to be delicious with the lemony sauce and tender potatoes. In fact, the coating was not necessary; it detracted from the flavor of the halibut. Thankfully, the broccoli rabe was more a part of the sauce than an actual vegetable addition.

Only one of the desserts interested me until I saw the cheese selection. On the menu, one could choose three cheeses and two “meats,” I asked if I could substitute two cheeses for the meats and Tuncay agreed. It was great. Along with a fruit compote and some red grapes I delighted in Kunik (goat’s milk with Jersey Cream), Brillat Savarin (cow’s milk brie style), Moses Sleeper (raw goat’s milk camembert style), Dunbarton Blue (raw cow’s milk cheddar and bleu) and Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont, all arrayed in order of potency. Tuncay brought a large basket of fresh sliced bread to go with it.

The double espresso was great. With a nice glass of Grappa Poli Sarpa Barrique my dinner was finished. What I would like to do the next time I visit is to have a wine tasting. Many of the three hundred were completely affordable while some were over-priced, but I think I could get a decent sampling. Not bad for a wine bar.

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