Delayed Reaction: Wild Indian

Premise: Two childhood friends grow in very different directions years after their involvement in a murder as children.

 

Sometimes I have to remind myself that just because a movie is inclusive, doesn't mean it has to be good. The thing I like best about Wild Indian is that it offers some non-stereotypical roles to some Native American actors. That's cool. The film industry still kind of sucks at finding roles for Native Americans that don't involve them wearing feathers.

 

Wild Indian is about Makwa and Ted-O. As kids they are responsible for the death of a classmate. Years later, Makwa has moved to California, adopted the name Michael, and become a successful businessman. He carries a lot of self-hate for being a Native American, who he calls cowards at one point. Ted-O never quite gets over what happened when they were younger and gets in trouble with the law for unrelated crimes. After getting out of prison, Ted-O confronts Makwa about coming clean, which Makwa has no desire to do.

 

I guess the interesting thing is supposed to be that Makwa is clearly a sociopath. He had a hard childhood then made something of himself. The movie makes it clear that he's still a pretty sick individual though. I didn't find Makwa even remotely interesting as a character. He's just a bad dude who is willing to lie and cheat to get ahead. Michael Greyeyes tries to make him seem is dynamic as possible, but there's not much he can do with it. Chaske Spencer as Ted-O is much more compelling, but it becomes clear that the movie isn't nearly as interested in him.

It's not exactly a bad movie. It's just a pretty anonymous crime thriller that repeatedly made plot decisions that I didn't buy.

 

Side Thought: Maybe it's just me, but Michael Greyeyes is way too old for this role, right? By a solid decade. He's noticeably older than Chaske Spencer, who I believe is already too old for the timeline given by the movie. I don't think I'd mind any of this much if I wasn't supposed to buy Makwa as a hungry, young-ish executive. Greyeyes is in his 50s and the movie treats him as a contemporary of Jesse Eisenberg (playing a coworker).

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend