The footage was found to have given way to the Laptop Cinema.
“Missing,” like its spiritual predecessor”Searching,” told entirely through screens that dominate our culture… and our lives. Storm Reid plays a teenager trying to find her missing mother and she will use all her digital resources to solve the case.
What follows is clever, albeit too clever for its own good. The third act falls apart in a series of “come on…really” revelations that threaten to spoil the movie’s intent.
Reid plays June, or Junebug for her devoted mother (Nia Long). Teenagers rebel against their mother’s suffocating but warm embrace in a way many teenagers will understand. That dynamic changes when the mother goes missing after a romantic trip to Colombia with her new lover (Ken Leung).
June immediately went into detective mode, frustrated that the police couldn’t get into the disappearance. She hires a foreign gig (charmingly played by Joaquim de Almeida) to help her find and use the website to translate Spanish to English (and vice versa). She quickly finds some real clues, and that’s where the confusion begins.
Scripts serve some very human touches despite being heavily reliant on apps, Big Tech platforms, and other digital screens. That gives “Missing” an extremely necessary humanity. Reid relentlessly plays June, showcasing the teenager’s innate intelligence without becoming a super detective before our very eyes.
She stumbled along the way, and it was refreshing.
However, what “Missing” tries to do is a modern-day screenwriter’s gimmick that has disappointed more than a few horror films. None of them are themselves, and many twists and turns start to pile up in the middle of the film frustratingly.
It is “Onion” effect.
By the third act, just as the hunt for the missing Ma was heating up, the revelations dampened our resolve. That, and many of the plot holes that become too hard to ignore, robs “Missing” of its urgency.
That Found Footage-style gimmick is no longer welcome either. Turns out you can deliver a gripping horror movie just by using a variety of screens and cameras, but “Missing” shows the limits of that approach.
A little cheating from time to time is forgiven, and the film would benefit from being less faithful to the format.
Storm Reid has combined a still-blooming entertainment career with a higher education since fall 2021, and she appreciates the opportunity for a bit of normalcy between her hit drama and the TV series. Figure https://t.co/uxufbt8ehS
– Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 15, 2023
“Lost” offers a not-so-subtle compilation of parenthood, the sacrifices mothers make for the safety of their children, and how teenagers appreciate that approach. when it’s “missing”.
However, it is not heavy and always emphasizes mystery. Few revelations are less shocking, and “Lost” could be a first-rate thriller.
True, the film’s ingenious trappings and Reid’s painstaking work make it worth watching.
Hit or miss: It’s hard not to admire Missing, from the fearless heroine to the skillful storytelling. Too bad the story is too clever for its own good.
