Certificate: 15 (strong threat, violence, domestic abuse). Running Time: 111 mins. UK Distributor: Sony Pictures
WHO’S IN IT?
Storm Reid, Ken Leung, Nia Long, Joaquim de Almeida, Daniel Henney, Amy Landecker, Tim Griffin, Michael Segovia, Megan Suri, Johanna Braddy, Ava Zaria Lee
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Nick Johnson and Will Merrick (directors, writers), Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian and Natalie Qasabian (producers), Julian Scherle (composer), Steven Holleran (cinematographer), Austin Keeling and Arielle Zakowski (editors)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
A teen (Reid) searches online for her mother (Long) after she mysteriously disappears…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON MISSING?
The “Screenlife” genre – i.e. a story told entirely through one or several computer screens – has, until fairly recently, been catering exclusively to horror movies, which isn’t exactly a bad thing (after all, we got films like Host out of it) but you’d think the style would lend itself more to other types of films by this point, as a means of sharing the wealth. That’s one of the reasons why director Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching stands out, even to this day, as an example of what opportunities Screenlife can give to films of other genres. In that movie’s case, it utilised several computer screens – laptops, phones, live webcams, you name it – to add a whole new level of immediate suspense to the mystery-thriller angle, as well as highlighting the role that modern technology plays in all our lives, especially when it comes to concealing who we might actually be in the real world.
These are traits that are continued in Missing, a standalone sequel to Searching that doesn’t always match the suspense or even the intrigue of the first one, but still manages to be a compelling Screenlife mystery in its own right.
The film – which, once again, is shown completely from the perspective of numerous screens – begins as teenager June (Storm Reid) is waiting impatiently for her mother Grace (Nia Long) to head off on a trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung), so that she can spend the week partying. When it comes to picking them up at the airport, though, June is left confused when neither Grace nor Kevin show up, prompting an online investigation into their whereabouts that sees her scrolling through search histories, typing down important notes, and even hiring Colombian freelancer Javier (Joaquim de Almeida) to snoop around the local area for clues. Slowly, but surely, June discovers a sinister conspiracy involving Kevin that gives her great reason to worry about her mother’s safety, especially when more and more truths about his – and even Grace’s – identity come to the surface.
When you break it down, Missing is one of those sequels that is basically doing the plot of the first film again – only here, instead of a parent using online tools to track down their missing child, it’s the other way around – but, despite some significant parallels in their pacing and how their particular plots unfold, this movie still does well to stand far enough apart from its predecessor. In fact, there are even some amusing background tie-ins with Searching, most notably a Netflix docu-series that we see recreating parts of that film, further implementing that both movies happen to take place in the same universe. Missing, however, manages to orchestrate its own separate mystery that builds upon its compelling plot twists and cleverly makes you double-guess some of the more obvious solutions before then bringing them back around. It’s enough to always leave you guessing up until the last moment, as you’re constantly trying to piece together many of the clues and puzzles at the same time as our lead character, ensuring that the audience is rarely ever one step ahead of them.
The Screenlife angle is also worked in rather well, and a lot of that boils down to how impressively edited the film is. Directors Nick Johnson and Will Merrick – taking over from Aneesh Chaganty, who still serves as a producer – were previously editors on Searching, and their keen eye for intricate, rapid-paced visual storytelling comes through here as we almost seamlessly hop from one screen to the next – whether it’s a laptop or a phone or even a smartwatch – all without feeling as though it’s zooming by too fast or without enough clarity as to what’s going on. Johnson and Merrick, along with this film’s editors Austin Keeling and Arielle Zakowski, give their film an energetic personality that knows when to dial itself down as the plot grows thicker, and keeps a good pace even in its quieter, less stress-inducing moments.
Helping matters is that you do end up caring about the characters, because the performances are also very good. Storm Reid easily carries the film, quickly getting you on her character’s side even in moments when she is being a bit of a mopey teen, and she has some strong support from the likes of Nia Long – who, despite being (literally) off-screen for most of it, still has more to do here than she did in You People – and Joaquim de Almeida, who lights up the (again, very literal) screen every time he pops up. Their performances suck you into the growingly tense drama that generates around them, and by the time that certain revelations come their way, you are completely invested and want to see them get out of the situation in one piece, largely thanks to these actors and their, erm, screen presence.
If there’s one thing that prevents Missing from being on the same level of Searching, though, it’s the third act. It’s one of those climaxes that relies heavily on perhaps one twist too many, especially with a surprise reveal that threatens to take things straight into soap opera territory. For a film that up to this point had done pretty well with establishing its own level of authenticity, it goes with a rather far-fetched ending that’s pretty hard to wrap your head around, and all but undoes the genuine threat that’s been building up all this time. Searching had a pretty silly ending as well, but you could at least buy the reasons for why certain people did what they did; Missing just relies on extreme conventions and a little bit of shock value to try hard, not with much success, to get over the fact that the overall scheme, and the planning behind it, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Both this and Searching are movies with their equal amount of thrills and innovations with the Screenlife method, but while the latter is an altogether stronger movie – especially in how it wraps up its own story – Missing deserves a fair bit of credit for being almost as captivating and worthy of a larger screen than the ones it’s simulating.
SO, TO SUM UP…
Missing is an entertaining Screenlife thriller that, despite a similar plot, differs enough from its standalone predecessor Searching with its own compelling mystery, impressive editing and strong acting, even if a far-fetched third act threatens to undo the level of suspense.
