Agree 200% with this. If the flashback had been shown earlier, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as good or as effective.
However, showing it exactly when they did (right after the FBI agent knocked on the trailer door) was perfectly placed - since, right up to that point, you didn't really know what happened re: the crime. The level of suspense is palatable right before the flash-back, which is exactly the way it should be.
I've always hated movies that show you the end at the beginning, and then tell the story. It's ridiculous - in these cases we know everything that happens ahead of time, and there is no real suspense involved. So, I'm very glad that Wind River didn't go this route.
Timing is everything, in movies & in life....
Last edited by Rick Deckard on Jan 11th, 2018 at 05:39 AM
All the way up to the flashback, the general sense was only ever one suspect.
Then there was the sense that the guys were only protecting their own against the FBI & local law enforcement.
Until the dawning reveal that the guys were actually protecting themselves from being complicit in not just one death but two.
Having the flashback closer to the end of the movie makes the viewer, IMO, sympathise once again with the dead woman instead of burying her character as just part of the plot.
Yes, agree completely with this as well. Right up until the flash-back, I was thinking that the boyfriend (who was revealed to be JB) killed the woman, and then was himself killed somehow. Great misdirection here.
It wasn't until the flashback itself that we actually saw what happened. Also, showing the flash-back when they did illustrated that the FBI agent was in extreme danger by knocking on that door - which is something that was not at all obvious before she went up to the door. Again, this was brilliantly placed.
If the flashback had occurred earlier, the movie would just have been a relatively standard suspense film.
Going along with this, I felt the film was superbly edited - the editing was one of the best parts of the movie. In fact, I don't think one scene should have been modified/changed - it was that good.
The only minor gripe I had was giving Renner's character a sad backstory about his own daughter being murdered.
It's easy to understand why he didn't hesitate to help the FBI agent in tracking down the alleged killer as his own daughter's death was a motivating factor but it just felt a bit unnecessary to add that past grief to Renner's character.
Even if the film was to make the public aware of the amount of missing girls that go un-reported every year, I just felt it didn't need Renner to have the same backstory.
Last edited by Esau Cairn on Jan 11th, 2018 at 11:30 AM
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Jan 11th, 2018 04:18 AM
