Where was Wind River filmed? All filming locations explored

A still from the film (Image via Voltage Pictures)

Wind River, released in the USA on August 4, 2017, is the third film by Taylor Sheridan on the modern American West, after Sicario (2015) and Hell or High Water (2016).

The synopsis of the film on IMDb reads:

“A wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.”

As per a 2017 report published by Film L.A. Inc., the principal photography for Wind River began on March 12, 2016, and ended on April 25, 2016. Made against an estimated budget of $11,000,000, the film was shot in several locations in and around Utah.

Major Wind River filming locations explored

Utilizing the landscape of Wyoming and Utah, the neo-Western crime film captures the feel of the American West. Park City Studios and Utah Film Studios add to the scope of the film. The film's major filming locations are as follows:

1) Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming

The opening shots of the film show Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) entering the Wind River Indian Reservation with his son.

The actual location was used not just for the opening sequence but for many other crucial shots in the film. The vast expanse and profound loneliness of the location help create the atmosphere of this brooding film.

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2) Summit County Courthouse, Coalville, Utah

In the film, the courthouse in Summit County is used to represent the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

Located at 60 North Main Street, Coalville, this is an old building, completed in 1904. In fact, the historic courthouse acquired a place in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The film has several shots that show the main characters assembled in and around this location

3) Hidden Peak Rd, Utah

The colossal Hidden Peak provides the backdrop to one of the most emotionally charged scenes in Wind River.

As Pete Mickens (James Jordan) is confronted by Cory, Mickens admits to his assault on Natalie and the murder of Matt. Cory lets him go, asking him to brave the difficult path just as Natalie did. However, the harsh surroundings are too much to bear for Pete, and he succumbs to them.

4) Wasatch Range, Utah

Located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains in Central Utah, the Wasatch Range is seen during an important exposition in Wind River.

This is where Cory finds Natalie’s body. The extreme harshness and adversity of the surroundings heighten the sense of tragedy as Cory contemplates the murder of indigenous women.

Wind River: Plot and cast

Elizabeth Olsen as Jane Banner in Wind River (Image via Voltage Pictures)

The film opens with Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovering the frozen body of Natalie Hanson (Kelsey Asbille). FBI Special Agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) starts an investigation into the homicide.

As the autopsy report arrives, evidence of rape is found. Cory’s daughter, too, was murdered in a similar fashion three years earlier, and these events reopen his wounds.

Banner’s superiors are unwilling to proceed with the case, hence Banner and Cory go ahead with it independently. As they ask around, they find Natalie was dating Matt, but soon, even Matt’s body is found.

Various clues emerge, and a series of flashbacks show how the s*xual assault and murder were committed by Pete. In the climax of the film, Cory confronts Pete, forcing a confession out of him. Cory lets Pete go, but he succumbs to the cold weather.

The cast of the film includes: