2021 Directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.
Decades after covering up his classmate’s murder, Michael has moved on from his reservation and fractured past. When a man who shares his violent secret seeks vengeance, Michael goes to great lengths to protect his new life with his wife and boss from the demons of his past.
Michael Greyeyes Chaske Spencer Kate Bosworth Phoenix Wilson Julian Gopal Lisa Cromarty Jesse Eisenberg Elisha Pratt Scott Haze Tres Garcia Sheri Foster Marissa Woolf Evan Assante Saxon Keanu Neal Claudia Lee Jenna Leigh Green Bruce Davis Kirstyn Anderson Mattie Walker Andrew Hooks Brenda Williams Garrett O'Brien Kody Burns Tori Hartley Lauren Newsham Justin Parks
Jesse Eisenberg Joel Michaely J.D. Lifshitz Raphael Margules Brent Ryan Green Adam Margules Niraj Bhatia Frédéric Fiore Katy Drake Bettner Celine Dornier Lesli A. Masoner Dan McClung
Such a dark, brooding Native American drama about the consequences of guilt and thLOOK IT’S JESSE EISENBERG!
SUNDANCE 2021: film #23
“i want him to be normal. and good”
carefully deals with abuse and regret with empathy. it’s a bleak watch but made with confidence, i wish the last act was as strong as the build up but it was still rewarding. i can feel this one haunting me already
Impressively poignant in terms of themes. Wild Indian explores the complexities of internalized hatred, trauma’s ramifications through generations, and the various struggles of the Native experience.
Its heavy emphasis on exploring those themes does result in shaky, somewhat underdeveloped character arcs though. I didn’t find that component to be excessively distracting or disappointing though.
Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.’s debut is a quietly powerful one. Silent rage bubbles underneath, lashing out at the most unexpected, jarring moments, leaving a painful sting. I found myself constantly caught off guard by how the story progressed and I felt engaged with the subject matter from start to finish.
Wild Indian is a truly impressive and representative watch.
We’re the descendants of cowards. Everyone worthwhile died fighting.
Wild Indian on balance may not compare to the two lead performers blistering, powerful work, but man, this extract of dialogue is like a sucker punch. Cutting deep n nailing the vaguely presented but mighty message more than the film did
Sundance #14
**Makwa is a young Anishinaabe boy with abusive and neglectful parents. He has one friend, Ted-O. One day, Makwa murders a schoolmate. The two cover up the crime and their paths diverge. They're now adults and have to face the past.**
Extremely bleak and dry. This is definitely the feel bad movie of the festival. I was really vibing with it until like the last twenty minutes. This story gives us no one to root for.
Also random Jessie Eisenberg is random.
"Why should I be punished for your transgressions" -Michael,
- 2021 Ranked: boxd.it/aL2Ys
- Sundance 2021 Ranked: boxd.it/b1NDo
Jesse Eisenberg must've shot his part in an afternoon.
It's nice to have a present day story featuring Native Americans. This is a thriller with the core of a very interesting idea. It's close to something I might really like. At its best Wild Indian feels like an early Coen Brothers project but at its worst it feels amateurish and hollow. It's good enough that I would be interested in a future project by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., especially a writing one, but not good enough that I'd watch it again or really highly recommend it.
Watchable, nothing really special though. It's a soft 3 stars.
Bleak AF. Lethal self-loathing born out of one traumatic crime and a lifetime of resentment for a complex heritage. Michael Greyeyes and Chaske Spencer are totally involving – Spencer volatile and vulnerable, Greyeyes stony and kind of terrifying. Often chilly and a little slow, but there's a lot of solid material brewing beneath the surface.
WILD INDIAN is a very bleak character study on generational trauma, hatred & self-loathing with no easy answers. Michael Greyeyes gives a terrifying performance while Chaske Spencer is soul crushing. I was very much taken in by its hypnotic atmosphere, haunting score & provocative themes.
Sundance #40
While the components of Wild Indian may not slot entirely smoothly together, this debut feature, written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., clearly shows plenty of potential for the filmmaker. There's no question his idea of examining the psychological tensions between past and present and the heritage of colonialism within the context of the North American indigenous experience is ambitious. He has a good eye for imagery, with numerous scenes offering a powerful sense of place; he similarly manages to elicit impressive performances, especially from Phoenix Wilson. As a result, the film is built on looks and body language as much as it is on the script.
I'm pretty on the fence about this one. On the one hand, it's very hard to deny how brooding and gorgeous the score is and it's shot with a color palette that is to die for. I think Ted-O puts on a very good performance on a person scarred by everything that he's come across and that is one of the major bright points for me.
Unfortunately, I have more negatives than positives for this one. I can't stand films where our main character that is supposed to be our protagonist is an actual psychopath. You're leaving me alone with a character that I hate for half the film and you're expecting me to accept him being a psychopath because…
I’m glad Barry Jenkins recommend this on Twitter. It’s a powerful film about two friends in the 1980s who commit a crime that’ll haunt them for the remainder of their lives. We pick back up with them in the present day and they’ve gone on to live very different lives. One has spent most of his adult years in prison while the other has basically shunned the indigenous community he comes from.
This is a powerfully directed and acted film that runs just 90 minutes. There are no easy answers and redemption is difficult to come by. I liked the film noir storytelling and definitely recommend to those who like disturbed characters. Without spelling it out the film says a…
