Review: Brush up on Taylor Sheridan with the 'American Frontier Trilogy'
Posted Monday, October 17, 2022 at 3:28 PM Central
Last updated Monday, October 17, 2022 at 3:29 PM Central
by John Couture
If I had mentioned the name Taylor Sheridan five years ago, you would have sung the praises of Sicario or Hell or High Water. Sheridan wrote those two highly successful and critically-acclaimed films which along with Wind River make up the very impressive American Frontier Trilogy.
Taylor Sheridan wrote and directed Wind River, but if I mention his name today nine out of ten people would immediately quip Yellowstone. The highly successful TV series that Sheridan co-created in 2018 has taken on a life of its own and helped to elevate Sheridan to even higher credibility and recognition.
Spinning off at least three companion series (and counting), Yellowstone is prepping its fifth season for debut next month and the world can't get enough of Taylor Sheridan's opus of the Dutton family. And yet, most fans of the TV series have never heard of the three movies listed above.
That's a shame.
In this trilogy of films written by Taylor Sheridan (co-creator of "Yellowstone"), an idealistic FBI agent teams up with a shady consultant to bust a drug lord (SICARIO), a rookie FBI agent and a game tracker work to solve a girl's murder on a remote reservation (WIND RIVER), and a desperate father decides to rob the bank that's trying to take his family's land (HELL OR HIGH WATER).
The American Frontier Trilogy helps those that are jumping on the Taylor Sheridan train now to quickly catch up on his film repertoire. Of course, if you're like me, you already appreciate Taylor Sheridan the filmmaker, and need to catch up on this whole TV series stuff.
Yep, that's right. Despite my borderline stalkerish obsession with Sheridan's film resumé, I have yet to sit down and start Yellowstone. I know. I know. I already get enough grief from my family and friends over this, but there are only so many hours in a day. I'll get there, eventually. I promise. Maybe.
But this isn't a review of Yellowstone. No, this is a review of something that I am quite familiar with and that's the three films written by Taylor Sheridan that just happen to be some of the best films released in the last decade in American film.
In release order, Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River present three neo-Western takes on the current bleak landscape of the "Old West." All of the films contain clear-cut lines of good and evil with competent portrayals (for the most part) of both the FBI and the Texas Rangers.
But everything isn't always as easy as black and white in Taylor Sheridan's world.
In Sicario, an FBI agent teams up with a "consultant" who enjoys playing in the grey areas to help capture an even bigger criminal. While on Wind River, a rookie FBI agent teams up with a local game tracker to solve a mysterious murder on a reservation.
But the biggest morality tale is saved for one of my favorite films in the last 25 years, Hell or High Water. When the bank is threatening to foreclose on their family land, two brothers scheme to rob branches of the said bank to pay off their debt.
The three leads of Hell or High Water, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster all turn in award-caliber performances as they present a modern take on a classic Western. Much like those older films, the motives behind all of the action in Hell or High Water are pretty simple.
The audience pulls for the brothers to get solvent despite crossing the line of the law. And yet, Jeff Bridges presents a likable aging Texas Ranger who not only has compassion for the brothers' motives but may secretly be cheering for them to succeed as well.
The connective tissue between all three films that almost assuredly comes through in Yellowstone is Sheridan's ability to write compassionate characters that are flawed, but instantly likable. You want to root for the traditional bad guys, but you also like the good guys. It's just great writing and character-building and it's something that Sheridan excels at.
If you haven't checked out these films or it's been a hot minute since you've seen them, I can't recommend buying this set more as all three of these movies hold up to repeat viewings and offer something different each time through.
American Frontier Trilogy is now available on Blu-ray.
