Change in focus (Renner’s family) *spoilers*

I may be off base in some things as I was multi-tasking last night when we watched “Wind River.”

It felt as though the director’s intentions initially were to put greater focus on Renner’s character’s role as a father and (ex) husband. We see a lot of moments with his son, a little scene with the boy riding the horse, and he shows a lot of concern for his ex-wife in their discussions about her travels and possible new job.

That all seemed to get completely lost by the halfway point in the movie. I may have missed some references by the end, but in terms of their being visible presences on the screen, they just weren’t. Perhaps there were scenes that were deleted, but did Wilma get the job in Jackson Hole? What was teh ultimate effect of Renner’s ditching his son with his grandfather while he helped the investigation? (The boy was obviously disappointed at first.)

Also, not related to Renner’s family, did anyone else feel that it was a little jarring to shift the POV so sharply toward the end so we the viewers could get a scene explaining the attack, rape, and murder(s)? There’s no way for us to know all that without completely stepping outside the way that the movie had been unfolding up until then. Generally if you have a flashback, someone you’re following needs to be doing the flashback-ing.

That said, I did enjoy the voice and I thought it was beautifully filmed, but I came away with a slightly unfinished feeling.