Sundance Film Festival movie review: 'Wild Indian'

(Image courtesy of Sundance Film Festival)

The legacy of violence echoes through the lives of two men who covered up a terrible crime as children in the dramatic thriller 'Wild Indian' (premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival).

In short: Two men, Makwa (Michael Greyeyes) and Ted-O (Chaske Spencer), confront a traumatic secret they share involving the savage murder of a schoolmate.

The entire first act takes place in the 1980s, as it establishes Makwa and Ted-O's life growing up on the reservation. It's a lot of time to commit to what amounts to a very long flashback, but it cements what where the boys came from - and how one event became a focal point that changed their lives forever. This also affords writer-director Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. an opportunity to depict the trauma of life in a violent home as well as flesh out life on a Native American reservation. 'Wild Indian' then jumps ahead in time to the present, finding both men leading extraordinarily different lives.

'Wild Indian' is a morally complex study of violence anchored in a protagonist who is as much a victim as he is a perpetrator. The film effectively positions him as another link in a very long chain of abuse - abuse that he escalates to outright murder. On one hand, the boy is violently beaten to the point where he fears coming home ... but on the other hand, he shows no remorse for his actions. Perhaps his only "good" act in the film is his awareness that he is a top-tier sinner ... whose apparent apathy toward his son is his attempt to break the chain, as if to avoid infecting his child with his lineage of resentment and evil.

Greyeyes and Spencer are absolutely riveting as two former former friends burdened with a secret that has defined their lives. The difference between the trajectories of their lives is tragic and stirring. Greyeyes is absolutely arresting with an enigmatic performance that simmers with resentment just below his otherwise respectable, put together surface layer. Spencer looks like, moves like and sounds like a middle aged man who has spent most of his life in prison - but in contrast to his former friend, Spencer radiates anger and rage, while a powerful current of pain is just below his ex-con exterior.

While 'Wild Indian' is thematically powerful, its narrative structure often leaves the audience wondering where this is all going. The film moves in a very general direction - but ends to lose focus as the film progresses. After a riveting second act that establishes what Makwa and Ted-O have to lose if the truth was ever revealed, the final act is a bit nebulous and stumbles to an unsatisfying conclusion. This meandering narrative combined with the conflicting sympathy and revulsion surrounding a protagonist does 'Wild Indian' no service. If the audience doesn't know how to feel about a protagonist and is also unsure exactly what conclusion the film is heading toward, then the film isn't leaving viewers with much to firmly grasp onto.

Final verdict: If only the narrative structure was as sound as the film's themes and character analysis, then 'Wild Indian' could have been one of the strongest films of 2021. But the film doesn't so much stick the ending as it does just land with a dull thud.

Score: 3.5/5

'Wild Indian' screens at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This drama is not yet rated and has a running time of 87 minutes.

Directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. / Screenplay by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. / Cinematography by Eli Born / Film Editing by Ed Yonaitis & Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. / Production design by Jonathan Guggenheim / Starring Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer, Jesse Eisenberg, Kate Bosworth, Phoenix Wilson, Julian Gopal