Wild Indian

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Wild Indian
Wild Indian poster.jpg
Poster
Directed byLyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Written byLyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Produced by
  • Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
  • Thomas Mahoney
  • Eric Tavitian
Starring
CinematographyEli Born
Edited byEd Yonaitis
Music byGavin Brivik
Production
companies
  • Logical Pictures
  • 30WEST
  • Om Films
  • Boulderlight Pictures
  • MM2 Entertainment
  • Pureplay Entertainment
Distributed byVertical Entertainment
Release dates
  • January 30, 2021 (2021-01-30) (Sundance)
  • September 3, 2021 (2021-09-03) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish; Ojibwe in opening sequence[1]

Wild Indian is a 2021 American thriller film written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr. The film stars Michael Greyeyes and Chaske Spencer with Jesse Eisenberg and Kate Bosworth.[2] The film was supported by the Sundance Institute through the Writers and Directors Labs.[3]

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021,[4] and was released in the United States on September 3, 2021 by Vertical Entertainment.

Plot[]

The film begins with a brief scene set at an unknown time in the past, as a Native American man hunts in the woods. He appears to be suffering from smallpox, and his wife at home is dying.

In 1988, a young Ojibwe boy, Makwa, lives in Wisconsin. He is abused by his father at home and bullied at school, and his only friend is his cousin, Teddo. Makwa develops a crush on a girl at school, and becomes envious of another boy, James, who draws the girl's attentions.

Teddo teaches Makwa how to shoot with a rifle owned by Teddo's father. One day, after fighting with Makwa's mother, Makwa's father brutally beats Makwa. Makwa shows up to school the next day heavily bruised. Later that night, Makwa takes a kitchen knife and sneaks into his parents' room, and positions the knife above his father's head. Makwa's mother interrupts him, oblivious to the knife. The next day, Makwa goes out shooting with Teddo, and at one point aims the rifle at Teddo while his back is turned. He lowers the rifle, then sees James walking through the woods. Makwa calmly aims the rifle at James and shoots him dead. Teddo, terrified, runs from Makwa and tries to hide. When Makwa finds him, he convinces Teddo that anybody finding out about James' murder would get them both in trouble, and he convinces Teddo to help him bury James' body. Makwa returns home, and when his father angrily orders him to turn off the TV, Makwa bites his father on the hand.

In 2019, Makwa is living in California and has changed his name to Michael. He is a successful businessman with a white wife named Greta and an infant son named Francis. Makwa has shed most traces of his prior Native American life in Wisconsin, though he is careful to use his identity when it helps him advance professionally. Greta tells Makwa that she is pregnant with another child, and after originally reacting coolly and hesitant, Makwa reassures her that he is happy about the pregnancy. Makwa then goes to the same strip club where he originally met Greta and he pays a stripper to let him choke her.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Teddo gets released from prison after having served a ten year sentence for drug dealing. He has spent much of the past 30 years in and out of jail for crimes relating to drugs and physical assault. He moves in with his sister, Cammy, and her young son, Daniel, who was born while Teddo was in prison. Teddo's mother died during his most recent prison sentence, and Cammy never visited him, for which she apologizes. Teddo gets a job as a dishwasher and bonds with Daniel. He asks Cammy about Makwa, who she says has moved away to one of the coasts and has never returned, not even for family funerals. Teddo retrieves money and a gun he had stashed away before prison. He buys a truck, then meets with James' mother, Lisa, to whom he tearfully confesses to disposing of James' body, also informing her that James was killed by Makwa.

Teddo travels to California and approaches Makwa outside of his apartment building. Makwa brings Teddo into his apartment to talk and show Teddo that he has made a new life for himself. Teddo pulls a gun on Makwa, and refuses to accept anything Makwa offers him to go away. Teddo tells Makwa that he confessed about James' death, then shoots Makwa in the arm, but finds himself unable to pull the trigger again to kill Makwa. He sets the gun down on the kitchen counter, and Makwa picks up the gun himself. Teddo confirms to Makwa that he told Lisa what Makwa did, at which point Makwa shoots Teddo several times, killing him.

The police question Makwa about the shooting, with Makwa claiming it was self-defense. Makwa's attorney assures him that he is legally in the clear for killing Teddo, but informs him that prosecutors in Wisconsin want to speak to him about the murder of James. Makwa travels to Wisconsin, where a local attorney explains to him that there is a real chance of Makwa getting charged with James' murder, based on newlyl found human remains and Teddo's confession to Lisa. Makwa goes to visit Lisa, who is bedridden in the hospital. After initially acting cordial, Lisa tells him that she believes Teddo and knows Makwa killed James. Makwa tries to discredit Teddo, calling him mentally ill, drunk, and a criminal, and then vents about how much he hates his fellow Native Americans, claiming that all the brave Native Americans died fighting and the current generation is descended from cowards. Makwa pulls a knife on Lisa and threatens to kill her if she continues pushing forward with the investigation, with Lisa seemingly relenting in the face of the threat.

Makwa and his local attorney meet with the prosecutor, who asks Makwa some perfunctory questions about where he was on the day of James' murder. Makwa says he doesn't recall anything about that day. The prosecutor then says that Teddo's claims aren't credible based on his criminal background and mental state, then dismisses James' death as just another missing Native American. Makwa leaves the interview but sees Cammy out on the street; he tries to avert his eyes but Cammy keeps staring at him, knowingly. Before getting into his car, Makwa takes the shell casing from the murder of James out of his pocket, which he has kept all these years. He drops the shell casing on the ground, leaving it behind him in Wisconsin.

Back in California, Makwa receives his expected promotion. He returns home to Greta and shows her the arm wound from getting shot, which still has not healed. Makwa goes alone to the beach and stares at the waves. The film cuts back to the Native American man with smallpox as he returns from the hunt. It then cuts back to Makwa, who collapses on the beach, crying.

Cast[]

Release[]

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021 in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.[5] In May 2021, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film.[6]

Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 65 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 59 as positive and 6 as negative for an 91% rating. The website's consensus reads, "While Wild Indian might have benefited from a more probing approach to its themes, it's held together by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.'s skilled direction and a strong performance from lead Michael Greyeyes."[7] On Metacritic, which sampled 11 critics and calculated a weighted average of 74 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".[8]

Variety named Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. one of the "10 Directors to Watch" for his work on the film.[9] Michael Greyeyes was nominated for the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance at the 2021 Gotham Awards.[10] For the 37th Independent Spirit Awards, Wild Indian received four nominations in the categories Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay, Best Male Lead (Michael Greyeyes), and Best Supporting Male (Chaske Spencer).[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Whitepigeon, Monica (February 22, 2021). "'Wild Indian' Offers a Glimpse into Generational Trauma". Native News Online. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Lindahl, Chris (January 28, 2021). "'Wild Indian' Was a First for Its Indigenous Actors: Working with an Indigenous Director". IndieWire. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Hewitt, Chris (January 15, 2021). "'A young Minnesota Native filmmaker's 'Wild' ride to Sundance". StarTribune.com. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  4. ^ "Sundance-FPG". Sundance. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Hipes, Patrick (May 26, 2021). "Sundance Pic 'Wild Indian' Lands U.S. Deal At Vertical Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Wild Indian". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Wild Indian Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Debruge, Peter (December 11, 2020). "Variety Names 10 Directors to Watch for 2021". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (November 30, 2021). "Gotham Awards: 'The Lost Daughter' Wins Top Prize — See the Full List of Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (December 14, 2021). "2022 Spirit Awards Nominations: A24 Leads with 13, Four Women in for Best Director (Full List)". IndieWire. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

External links[]

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