by Nathaniel R
Last night word spread round that this summer's sleeper success Wind River, about a rape/murder investigation on an reservation, had possibly found a new lease on life. It was a Weinstein Company release this summer -- their only "hit" this year actually -- and that connection was thought to have obviously doomed its chances this awards season following Harvey Weinstein's banishment from Hollywood after the numerous sexual harrassment and rape allegations.
If you remove that associative stain, though, the film is, in essence, a non-genre sleeper hit aimed squarely at adults and thus theoretically Oscar compatible...
Whether or not it can manage awards traction is another matter entirely but why not try? It's shut out from the Spirit Award nominations this afternoon (it easily qualified under their budget restrictions) is not a promising sign but maybe not the end of the world given the film's reviews and sleeper hit status.
The good news, whether or not the film can find any awards traction is that the film is now financially backed by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and Acacia Entertainment will fund the awards campaign. Even better news: all future proceeds will go to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.
Given the performances of Jeremy Renner and Gil Birmingham (the film's MVP who was also such a wonderful contributor to Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water) why not try to find a new life in awards season? The film is currently available to rent on Amazon and iTunes and also on DVD and Blu-ray if you haven't yet seen it.